FRANK Hurst is the first to admit Group 2 Golden Ticket rival Smooth Plane is “a very, very good dog, more suited to two-dog match racing than ours”.
14 January 2025
FRANK Hurst is the first to admit Group 2 Golden Ticket rival Smooth Plane is “a very, very good dog, more suited to two-dog match racing than ours”.
Frank’s star galloper Good Odds Cobber takes on Smooth Plane in the two-dog match race series at Albion Park on Thursday night, the pair being the quickest of the four-dog heats last week on a rain-affected track.
“Yes, Smooth Plane is a very, very good dog,” said Frank.
FIELDS AND FORM ALBION PARK THURSDAY NIGHT
“But, so is ours.”
Good Odds Cobber comes into the Golden Ticket off a career of 52 starts for 30 wins and $421,000.
Smooth Plane, a flashing second to Explicit in the G1 The Phoenix two runs back, has started 62 times for 22 wins and $494,000.
But Frank has a warning for his Victorian rival from the Tom Dailly kennel.
“If our dog is in front, he will not be beaten,” said Frank.
“He’s very, very strong and he’s got a lot stronger in this campaign.
“He can run super times coming from behind.
“If he does lead, Smooth Plane will have to go around him because our bloke will not shift from the fence.”
Good Odds Cobber was already chosen as a runner in The Phoenix before being withdrawn when a viral infection hit him while in Melbourne.
“That trip to Melbourne has done him the world of good,” said Frank.
“He is trialling better now than he ever has.”
Smooth Plane was snapped up by Australian Bloodstock as their runner in The Phoenix after Good Odds Cobber had to be scratched.
The Golden Ticket winner gets immediate entry into the G1 Gold Bullion on January 30.
The other two-dog match races are:
Danger Zone v Blue Kermaro
La Sagrada v Wreck James
Warm Cockles v Lakeview Emily
