Gifted Blueblood Races Into Great Chase Mix

EXCEPTIONALLY bred youngster Aston Komuni raced her way into next week’s Great Chase heats with a sparkling victory at Shepparton on Monday.

EXCEPTIONALLY bred youngster Aston Komuni raced her way into next week's Great Chase heats with a sparkling maiden final victory at Shepparton on Monday night.

The 19-month old daughter of Aston Dee Bee and champion brood Nicki Fields scorched over the 450 metres in a flying 25.23, a week after landing her heat in 25.72, amassing a combined winning margin of 14 ½ lengths.

"I thought she was ready to go around 25.40 last night so the time did surprise me a bit," trainer Ian Garland said.

"There's always been a good opinion of her and before her first start I'd had a look at the Great Chase as being a possible option. Now that she's won so well last night we'll push onto the heats at Shepparton next Monday."

The regional roadshow of heats for the Group 2 Great Chase kicks off at Bendigo this Saturday leading into semi-finals at The Meadows on October 13.

The $47,000-to-the-winner grand final is slated for The Meadows on October 20.

"She's had some looks at The Meadows and gone really well," Garland said.

"Because she's only 24 kilos, the smaller tighter tracks suit her better than the bigger tracks. At The Meadows she's already gone five dead early and 17.80 up the back – her early speed is her best attribute.

"She had box eight in both her Shepparton starts and within 30 metres of the race she was already on the fence. That's where she wants to be."

When it comes to bloodlines they don't come any better than Aston Komuni.

A son of Melbourne Cup winner Aston Dee Bee which has enjoyed as good a start to a stud career as any dog in recent history, her dam is Nicki Fields, her offspring responsible for almost 200 wins and $1.6m in prizemoney.

Included in that offspring are Group 1 superstars Poke The Bear, Hooked On Scotch and Out Of Range.

"When (owner) Ray (Borda) gave her to me to train I couldn't have been more appreciative," Garland said.

"She broke in at Mannings with big reports breaking the 19 seconds with a fast first split.

"Not long back I took on a real quirky dog for Ray and at the time he said when the time came he'd give me a nice young one to train and he was true to his word.

"Being so well bred and talented she's obviously very valuable so I've taken my time and brought her along slowly. The good ones generally have some character about them and she certainly does. At home she struts around like she's 38 kilos, not 24."

While Aston Komuni will line-up in Monday's Great Chase heats at Shepparton, Garland is targeting another exciting kennel prospect, Aston Jonas, towards next Tuesday's Horsham qualifiers.

Last week the son of Aston Kimetto launched his career with a sizzling 27.18 maiden victory over 485 metres.

"He's a very fast animal," Garland said.

"He doesn't have the early pace of Aston Komuni but he's got plenty of ability. The Great Chase looks like a nice race for him for where he's at."

The Great Chase is open to Victorian bred greyhounds with between 1-5 wins.

 

 

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