Ring The Bell Set For Stayers Cup Swansong

"WIN, lose or draw – Disco will be retired following the Stayers Cup," advised leading Kiwi conditioner Ray Adcock in the dizzy aftermath of Ring The Bell's NZ Stayers Cup heat victory.

"Disco (kennel name) doesn't owe anyone anything and he deserves his retirement," added Adcock about the ageless staying athlete, rapidly closing in on five years of age.
Two 732m heats held last Thursday decided the final field for the $27,465 Christchurch Casino New Zealand Stayers Cup, which is a Group 1 race that Ring The Bell won strongly last year.
The form coming out of those heats suggests that a replay of the recent $88,000 Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Collar is a distinct possibility. Those heats saw empathic wins being delivered by the first two Silver Collar finishers.
Ring The Bell defied his aging paws when he pinged away from the eight trap to cut his first 295m sectional in a quick 17.13. That is absolutely flying for the stayers.
He maintained his power packed gallop to easily take out the heat in a handy 43.20, just outside his 43.18 winning time from last year.
Ring The Bell will exit from trap six on Friday.
"Hopefully he can jump away like that again. You wouldn't know he had a 732m last week – he's all set to get the job done again," confirmed Adcock about his charges final race day assignment.
Dusty Gambler really threw down the gauntlet to Ring The Bell in the Silver Collar when he led him during the mid-stages prior to yielding to him during the run home.
He wore the pink racing vest on that occasion and his trainer Karen Walsh will be placing the same rug onto her charge for this decider after he also ripped through his first 295m sectional in 17.12.
His mid race sectional was strong, however he got the wobbles slightly during the run home finishing up with an overall heat time of 43.41. Improvement can be expected from him following his track debut outing.
"Dusty only knows one way to race – he gets out there and chases as hard as he can for as long as he can. I don't expect him to do anything different on Friday. He normally improves after his look at a new track and I expect him to do likewise again. He's all set to go on Friday," advised Walsh.
The Craig Roberts prepared Avenger Bale adds intrigue to this final after he boldly chased home Ring The Bell in his heats, 6 ½ lengths astern. He owns serious early pace and drawing trap two says he can be a major contender for a very long way even though his run home time won't be as strong as the two heat winners.
The Dave and Jean Fahey kennels always commands respect when it comes to Kiwi Group 1 finals and they have qualified four finalists. Translator has been there and done that over this 732m trip and drawing the ace trap has greatly enhanced his claims.
Opawa Tab was brave when delivering her heat second behind Dusty Gambler when checking out the extreme race distance for the first time, as was her kennelmate Opawa Abby Joy.
Pirate's Curse is exactly that – he's a complete enigma, as he owns immense power. It's his refusal to race in a field that is the utter frustration for his connections. He does appeal as a stayer who can inject value into the minor end of the race combo's in this event.