Locals face Bruiser of a night to make final
achievement at Burnie,” Welsford said. “It’s something I think about quite a lot.
“I just love the atmosphere of the Tassie carnivals. They’re fun, the atmosphere is great, and it’s some of the best racing in the world, right in our backyard in Tasmania.”
Welsford, who won a second straight gold medal with the Australian teams pursuit line-up at the 2017 world track championships in Hong Kong, will contest the carnivals as a member of the powerful Tim Decker-mentored Australian Track Endurance/South Australian Sports Institute contingent.
The Olympic silver medallist will headline a 12-member squad which also features Welsford’s fellow teams pursuit world champions, Kelland O’Brien and 2015 Burnie Wheelrace winner Nick Yallouris.
Classy female riders Bree Hargrave and Maeve Moroney-Plouffe are also in the group.
While Decker’s team will be favoured to pocket the majority of the near $100,000 cycling prizemoney at the seven-day carnivals, two talented New Zealand riders in Jordan Castle and Rio Olympian Zac Williams will be striving to upset the Aussies’ ambitions. THIS year’s Launceston to Hobart yacht race will be the 11th edition, but for prominent Bellerive Yacht Club member Jeff Cordell and two of his crew of B&G Advantage this will be their 10th.
It’s a significant year for Cordell as he was the winner, line and handicap, of the first race in 2007 and his Mumm 36 will start one of the favourites, WINNING a Group 1 Hobart Thousand is what most Tasmanian greyhound trainers dream of and at Luxbet Park Hobart tonight the dream could be part realised for a select few.
While Ted Medhurst and Mick Stringer have experienced the joy of raising aloft a Hobart Thousand trophy, other local mentors who have their dogs entered in the seven heats of the series will be hoping their dogs qualify next week’s final, that will offer $75,000 to the winner.
The winner of each heat and the fastest second placing will qualify.
The series is filled with talented interstate sprinters including last year’s winner Zipping Bruiser, who will be trying to become only the sec- for handicap honours at least, in this year’s race.
“We think this is quite an achievement for a race that has been running for just 11 years, with Gary Eiszele and Paul Curry also sailing their 10th L2H with me,” Cordell said yesterday.
Joining other regular crew members Jarryd Cohen, Alex Jarvis and Will Thomas will be Ian “Seaweed’’ Stewart and Jim Thorpe, normally arch ond since Ophir Doll (1961-62) to achieve the feat.
Zipping Bruiser has drawn box eight in the opening heat (race 2), ideal as he is a noted slow starter but has a powerful finish, although he has won only once since his Hobart rivals on the water, sailing Tas Paints, also a Mumm 36.
“Will is only 16 and will be sailing in his first L2H, but he has been racing with us all this season,” Cordell said.
Recalling the first L2H race, Cordell said, “Everything went well for us in that race . . . we got a break on the bigger boats and held on to take line honours and also win the IRC and AMS handicap trophies.”
In contrast, last year was a Thousand win last year.
The Robert Britton-trained Landmark is favourite ahead of Tristan Cannon, from the NSW kennel of Jason Magri, with his quote of $4 courtesy of drawing the inside box.
The best of the locals race he would rather forget. “We were becalmed in The Mercury Passage inside Maria Island and then we sat for two hours within sight of the finish line while the smaller yachts sailed up the river,” he said.
The 285 nautical mile Riversdale Estate Wines L2H 2017 starts from off Inspection Head wharf at Beauty Point on the Tamar River at 11.30am on Wednesday week.
The fleet, which includes appears to be the Anthony Bullock-trained Gotta Be You from box five.
The second heat (race 3) features Tasmania’s top two Thousand contenders in Chief Jetpilot (1) and Two Bills (5) going up against the fastest greyhound in Australia over 515m in Bewildering from the Seona Thompson kennel.
Bewildering ($1.80) is a noted slow starter but he has a big motor, evidenced by his brilliant win in the Group 2 Speed Star classic at Sandown where he clocked the fifth fastest time at the circuit over 515m.
The Speed Star win earned him the tag of the fastest dog on the planet but despite the reputation he will need luck from box three tonight.
Chief Jetpilot ran second in last year’s Thousand final and he has always been competi- two Victorian yachts and three from Tamar clubs, is headed by race record holder The Fork in The Road (Gary Smith) and last year’s line honours winner Tilt (Peter Cretan).
The race down the East Coast has attracted a fleet of 24 competitors, with the Derwent Sailing Squadron and the Tamar Yacht Club pleased with the size and quality after last year’s record fleet for the 10th anniversary race.
Sam Welsford
tive against the best, so from box one he looms as the state’s best chance to make the final.
Two Bills is the rising star having captured the Tasmanian Derby, Gold Cup and Barry Heawood Hobart Thousand Prelude as three of his four wins from his past five starts on the track.
The third heat (race 5) boasts top local hopes including Leeroy Rogue from the Debbie Cannan kennel.
While the former Queenslander has only been with Cannan for about six weeks the dog was always earmarked to relocate to her kennel.
The dog is best known as a short-course specialist but that is why she believes he is suited to this series.
“Leeroy Rogue is very fast early and he has shown that in his only two starts for me with wins in Hobart,” Cannan said.