Photo Man Takes Aim At Second MDC

PHOTO Man is “the best he's ever been” going into the Richmond regional heats on Friday night as he bids to qualify for his second TAB Million Dollar Chase.

The son of Aston Dee Bee and Amlin Mystique finished fifth to superstar She's A Pearl in the MDC finale in May and has continued to improve since then.

He went to Brisbane to win the Group 2 Flying Amy Classic and was third to Orchestrate in the Group 1 Brisbane Cup.

FIELDS AND FORM RICHMOND FRIDAY NIGHT

Part-owner Dave Mackenzie said on Wednesday that Photo Man had trialled at Sandown Park on Saturday and has gone “better than he has ever trialled”.

“He is a million dollars,” said Dave. “He is going better now than when he ran in the Million Dollar Chase final in May.”

In a race that had everything, the Gavin Clifton trained Photo Man finished the best to take out Semi-Final 4 of the #MDC! ? pic.twitter.com/JjNxIg4dzH

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 29, 2022

But Mackenzie and his cousin, Gavin Clifton, who part-owns and trains Photo Man, are well aware the Richmond MDC series is a tough one.

“The eight box is not ideal,” said Dave. “But, he has great early pace, likes to go straight out of the boxes, and we are hoping he can cross early.

“He only needs to run in the first four to qualify.

“Chasing another MDC experience is something you cannot ignore. Gavin and I got such a buzz just being in the final in May.”

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WA visitor, Panama Pepper, trialled at Richmond on Monday in preparation for the other MDC regional series and trainer Steve Withers admits he was not entirely happy with the run.

“It was not as good a trial as we would have expected,” said Withers.

“We'd flown over on Saturday and he was on a new track, silent lure, new surroundings and all that has to be taken into account.

“While the time was above average, it was not what we expected from a dog of his calibre.”

WA visitor PANAMA PEPPER continues his unbeaten form out of box two and dashes clear to win by five lengths in heat three of the Group 2 Flying Amy Classic! This chaser is going to be hard to beat come final time next week ? #QLDisRacing?@BrisGreys pic.twitter.com/yv4Dsd8Zk0

— RaceQ (@RaceQLD) June 9, 2022

Panama Pepper (Superior Panama-Starlight Bella) comes into the Richmond series drawn the four and facing plenty of pace with G1 winner Gatlin drawn to suit in the eight.

He is a last-start second to Throttle in the WA final of the National Sprint.

“The thing in this dog's favour is that he is such a great chaser,” said Steve.

“He has no brake pedal. He's a very brave dog.”

Panama Pepper also went to Brisbane during the Winter Carnival and made the final of the Flying Amy Classic and finished second in a heat of the Brisbane Cup.

His form at Cannington since heading home to Perth has been sensational.

Withers said he would stay in Sydney for as long as Panama Pepper went through the MDC series.

He also reports semen sales for champion Tommy Shelby have been “amazing”.

“A few breeders have started to do early education with some of his pups and we are hearing great reports,” said Steve.

“Maybe word of mouth about these reports has got to those breeders and that is why there has been a surge in the past month.”