Pindari Primed For Gold Plate Tilt

TRACEY Scruse is taking nothing for granted when she ventures to Bulli this Saturday night for the heats of the Group 2 Cyril Rowe Gold Plate with her freakishly talented sprinter Pindari Express.

Unbeaten in six starts at the south coast circuit, including last Saturday week's mind-boggling track record run of 21.93 over the 400m journey, Pindari Express heads into the $40,000 to-the-winner series as without question the greyhound to beat.

"He had a run up Bankstown Slipping track on Wednesday and came up beautiful – I'll have him checked over on Thursday but he looks good to go for Saturday," said Scruse of her two-time track record breaker.

"People tend to think he's a real injury prone dog but he's never done anything major, things like the top off both stopper pads. It's been 14 days here and 14 days there, but those two weeks turn into a month when you miss work and you need to start all over again.

"Hopefully the niggling injuries are behind us now and we can have a good run at things with some nice races coming up."

Winner at 10 of his 13 starts, with each of those victories in the best of the program, Chifley-based Scruse has been delighted with the son of Fabregas's most recent return to racing, outstanding in two Bulli 400m successes, with last Saturday's 22.01 gallop following on from his track record breaking run of 21.93 a week earlier.

"You don't like to say you think he can run those times but the week before that run I trialled him at Bulli over the 400m and he went 22.19, which was his first trial behind the arm in five or six weeks," added Scruse.

"I was trying to get him ready for the Warragul Cup last month but in the end I just couldn't get the work into him and you can't be taking on dogs of that ability when you're underdone.

"After the Warragul St. Leger last August, when he finished second to Aston Kimetto, I was trying to get him ready for the Million Dollar Chase through the Maitland qualifier but time beat us again. I'm a big believer in what's meant to be will be.

"He's trialled well at Sandown and Wentworth Park over 500m but he hasn't been in a field yet so we'll just need to see how he handles that when the time comes."

With the star conveyance ready for what promises to be a bumper 2019, Pindari Express tackles his first big assignment of the New Year when he goes around rock bottom odds in the second of three heats of the Group 2 Gold Plate at Bulli this Saturday night.

"No race is easy – you saw at Goulburn that anything can happen," pointed out Scruse, discussing Pindari Express's shock Goulburn Cup heat defeat in November as a $1.30 favourite.

"There's some real nice races coming up for him but I'm not getting ahead of things. We'll just take it race by race and see where we go. He's been beginning better so hopefully that continues on Saturday.

"I'd love to get him back down to Melbourne at some stage, they make you feel very welcome and do everything so professionally down there. I've loved my few trips there with him so far."