Rawlings Eyes Big 2025 With In Form Peaky Boo

AFTER an injury-interrupted 2024, the Ben Rawlings-trained Peaky Boo is primed for a big 2025 campaign which kicks off with heats of the SA Sprint Championship at Angle Park. 

The West On Poppy x Tommy Shelby chaser began 2024 with a series of impressive victories at Angle Park before finishing second in the Group 2 Launching Pad at Sandown Park. 

FIELDS AND FORM ANGLE PARK THURSDAY NIGHT

However, a persistent injury halted Peaky Boo's momentum, with the chaser having just one race start in seven months and was forced to miss a host of feature series including the Adelaide Cup and Gawler Cup in the back half of the year.

"He hurt a stopper tendon," Rawlings said. 

"We were really close to getting him up for the match races (prior to the Adelaide Cup) and at his last hitout, he broke the post to post record at Angle Park.

"Then the stopper tendon just swelled up only slightly so we thought it was best to let it go and miss that. We still thought he might make Gawler at that point but then as we would free gallop him it would just swell slightly, so we gave him some extended time off and tried some different things with him and managed to get it under control."

Since returning, Peaky Boo has won three of his past five starts including the Kate's A Scandal Christmas Sprint and a lightning 30.29 effort last week to win at Angle Park. 

"Peaky is flying. We have been able to string a few races together with him which has been great, but he still hasn't really had a consistent prep. He's got a reasonable name locally, but he's sort of still very immature."

Peaky Boo will start as a hot favourite in his heat on Thursday night after drawing box one but will face stiff competition from the likes of Fantastic Spike and Zinfandel Trace.  

Rawlings hopes the SA Sprint Championship can kickstart a strong period for the recently turned three year old greyhound. 

"He's come back really well and the draw on Thursday will obviously help massively, he just gets out from box one,” he said.

"He's won five of six from box one and the one miss was second in the Launching Pad. If he's able to get out on the arm, I wouldn't think they could run what he could run but we are just hopeful he can stay on the track and stay sound.”

Racing commences at 6:34pm local time with the heat of the SA Sprint Championship to be run as races 5 and 6 on the 11-race program.