Boom Bale Youngster On Melbourne Cup Trial

BOOM youngster Cain Bale will be on trial for a tilt at the fast approaching Group 1 Melbourne Cup (515m) when he makes his eagerly awaited Sandown Park debut on Thursday night.

A son of the great Feral Franky and champion Fanta Bale, Cain Bale has launched his career in breathtaking fashion for trainer Mark Delbridge, winning four of his first five starts.

But it's been the manner of the victories which has had the greyhound world taking notice, the blueblood unleashing devastating finishes to win on the three occasions since his all-the-way maiden debut at The Meadows on September 27 in 29.81s.

FIELDS AND FORM SANDOWN PARK THURSDAY NIGHT

"That night on debut was his first ever 500 and the first time in a field as well," Delbridge said.

"I knew he was good but he probably still took me a bit by surprise.

"Before I started him I gave him a good two months of pre-training and of the 22 dogs I got from Brendan (Wheeler) at that time he was showing me he was the standout.

"I took him to Ballarat early on and first go over 390m he went 22.17 and in post-to-posts at The Meadows he was going 24.60 and breaking 12 for the run home.

"Thursday night will be his first look at Sandown and I'm just hoping from the red he can stay handy. If he does I'd like to think he'd run around the 29.20 mark."

If Cain Bale runs up to expectations on Thursday, Delbridge hasn't ruled out a crack at the lucrative Melbourne Cup, a race he won last year with Yachi Bale.

"I almost threw him in a prelude this week but thought I'd try and get a fifth grade win (at Sandown) with him first," Delbridge added.

"But if he goes like I hope this week I'll look at a prelude next week. He's a young dog on the rise and has the ability and has proven he can handle himself in a field.

"He's very exciting but if he's going to take the next step he'll need to improve his box manners.

‘Cain' storms home

CAIN BALE was able to recover from a slow beginning and clear away from his rivals in the closing stages at @MelbourneGreys.

CAIN BALE has won both of his races as he led from start-to-finish on debut.#GreyhoundRacing #PremierRacing pic.twitter.com/YR38gHk4Zi

— WatchDog Racing (@WatchDogRacing) October 7, 2023

"I can see from behind the boxes pushing back against the shutter. If he doesn't improve I'll have to do some box work with him. But I'm hoping with racing he can sort it out."

Given his champion staying pedigree, everything points towards Cain Bale ultimately stepping up in journey.

"You can see a strong 600m won't be a problem but with 700m you never really know until you get there," Delbridge added.

"A race like the Silver Chief in December is there for him but what direction we head he will tell us. We'll learn a bit on Thursday night as well."