Northern Rivers Prospect Ready To Rock

SUCCESSFUL Northern Rivers trainer Reg Gardoll will be hoping luck's a fortune when his high caliber chaser I'm Zarr Rock takes his place in Saturday night's Ladbrokes Grade 5 Final (520m) at Wentworth Park.

Last Saturday night at headquarters the son of Kinloch Brae qualified for the $10,000 to-the-winner finale with an outstanding three-quarter length second to outstanding prospect Xerri in 29.62.

"And he was a bit stiff there going through the first bend … his run home time must have been exceptional," Gardoll offered.

"I didn't actually nominate for the series. I'd noticed that the fields at Wenty had been a bit quiet the weeks before so I thought I'd sneak an easy one which obviously didn't turn out.

“I guess his run surprised me a bit; but the dog has a lot of ability.”

Winner at nine of his 26 starts, including December's Bathurst Soldiers Saddle in a fast 29.52, I'm Zarr Rock is a brother to Bendigo track record holder Jim Zarr Dashian which is set to line-up in Sunday's Group 2 Bendigo Cup heats.

And while he's bracing to face a baptism of fire in Saturday night's cracking grade five final, Gardoll remains cautiously optimistic of a forward showing come Saturday night.

"I don't mind him drawn out wide in seven," Gardoll said.

"But it will all come down to how he begins and sits in the run. It's going to take a very fast time to win the race; it's very even. I think he'll make a nice middle distance dog down the track but I could be wrong. But he gives you that feeling.”

I'm Zarr Rock charged into the series of some outstanding Lismore form with Gardoll confirming the northern track is a decent yardstick to determine your city racing prospects.

"You can generally get a good guide as to what they'll run at Wenty at Lismore,” Gardoll said.

“This dog has run 29.70 at Lismore so I thought he'd run around that mark on Saturday night. With the right draw in the right race I think there's another nice race in the dog at some stage."

With seven heats of the series run and won last weekend, I'm Zarr Rock is the lone runner-up to contest the final courtesy of his outstanding effort.

And what a race it is.

Fastest qualifier is powerhouse chaser Zipping Zeek, the Jason Magri-trained son of Zulu Zeus recording a blistering 29.53, while Ritza Coen, one of three finalists for Mark Gatt, recorded a sizzling 29.59.

Sitting up in box eight is the Michelle Sultana-trained Unison which peeled off a slick 5.45 first split before scoring in his heat in 29.78.