Just The Ticket! Lucy Races Into Gold Bullion

MITCH Northfield is hoping Kooringa Lucy gets more luck this year when she contests the final of the Group 1 Gold Bullion at Albion Park on Feb 3.

MITCH Northfield is hoping his grand race bitch Kooringa Lucy gets more luck this year when she contests the final of the Group 1 Gold Bullion (520m) at Albion Park on February 3.

Kooringa Lucy (Fernando Bale-Mitcharlie Mia) ploughed through the wet at Albion Park on Thursday night to win the two-dog Match Race series, the Group 3 Golden Ticket (520m) in 30.12.

The “ticket” is entry straight into the Group 1 Gold Bullion and Kooringa Lucy finished fourth in that race last year behind champion Shima Shine … and was a tragedy beaten in running.

The bitch was storming up to the leaders at the first turn when severely checked back to last. She copped another check at the 600m boxes turn but still finished on to be fourth.

“Lucy's” preparation this year is a winning one.

“It didn't surprise me that she went so good in the Golden Ticket,” said Mitch Northfield whose wife Cheryl owns the bitch.

“But, she had gone awful in the four-dog heat the week before. She had to go better on Thursday night because he couldn't go as bad as the week before.”

She had been second to fastest heat winner Impact two weeks ago beaten three and a half lengths in 29.81.

Kooringa Lucy, who has now won 34 of her 79 race starts and earned $229,000 in stakes, proved her strength on the rain affected Albion Park.

Her first section in the two-dog match was the second slowest of the eight finalist, and her next section was the third slowest.

But, as the racing world knows only too well, Kooringa Lucy is a powerful bitch and when she ran home in 12.85 she had clinched the Group 3 Golden Ticket final.

“She has pulled up great, but she always does,” said Mitch.

“Because she goes into the final I had given some thought about running her between last night and the Group 1 final, but I won't do that. She will go straight into the Group 1.”

Mitch rates her better than her own mother, the Group winning Mitcharlie Mia.

“She's about two-tenths quicker than her mum,” said Mitch.

Cheryl Northfield owns Kooringa Lucy and picked her out as a pup.

"She was my pick," Cheryl said. "I just thought she was pretty and I liked her.

"She had a bit of character but it is all the luck of picking them sometimes.”

The Group 1 Gold Bullion will be the seventh Group final outing for Kooringa Lucy.

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