Kelsey Drawn To Continue Group Race Rampage

KELSEY Bale is poised to qualify for another country cup final after drawing box one in a heat of the Group 2 Warrnambool Cup on Thursday.

The darling of the Victorian provincial circuit enters the series following breathtaking wins in the Ballarat and Geelong Cups, overcoming wide draws in both.

The Daniel Gibbons-trained rocket will wear the red for just the third time in her last 26 starts in the Warrnambool Cup heat, her last two starts from the inside draw netting her a Ballarat Cup heat win and a close third behind Wow She's Fast in the group 1 Temlee at the Meadows.

FIELDS AND FORM WARRNAMBOOL THURSDAY

Kelsey Bale has contested five group finals since winning the group 2 Laurels at Sandown Park in December and, should she qualify for next week's final, will be racing for the $50,000 bonus from Greyhound Racing Victoria available to greyhounds that win three Victorian country cups in a calendar year.

‘Kelsey' from the clouds

KELSEY BALE overpowered her rivals in an outstanding last-to-first performance in the Group 2 @sportsbetcomau #BallaratCup Final.

KELSEY BALE has now won three Group races plus an #AustralianCup Consolation.
#GreyhoundRacing pic.twitter.com/eXHpytNWZe

— WatchDog Racing (@WatchDogRacing) April 7, 2023

While the draw is ideal, Kelsey Bale can't afford to make a mistake in a hot field.

Among her rivals are Typhoon Sammy which won the country cups bonus in 2022 and returned from injury in dazzling fashion last week at Geelong, four-time country cup finalist Salad Dodger, and Geelong Cup finalist Bobby Axelrod.

It's a mouth-watering opening heat on a card that features quality and depth across the seven heats.

Other notable runners include the brilliant Unleash Collinda and Action Girl (heat 2), classy veteran Ferdinand Boy (heat 3), Titan Blazer (heat 4), Mepunga Mustang and Silver Brute (heat 6) and My Neo (race 7).

The winner and fastest runner-up will progress to the $50,000 to the winner group 2 Warrnambool Cup final on Wednesday 3 May in the middle of the famous Warrnambool May Carnival.

Tips:

Race 4 (heat 1): 1-7-4-6

Race 5 (heat 2): 2-3-6-1

Race 6 (heat 3): 3-1-5-2

Race 7 (heat 4): 3-5-2-8

Race 8 (heat 5): 6-2-1-3

Race 9 (heat 6): 1-2-7-4

Race 10 (heat 7): 2-8-1-4

Best: Kelsey Bale (race 4, box 1)

Next best: Dundee Smokey (race 6, box 3)

Value: Yankee Costanza (race 7, box 3)

Quaddie: 23 / 12356 / 235 / 126 = $50 for 83.3%