Rudalls' bitch hopefully fast on big stage

By Jordan Gerrans

North Queensland conditioner Ross Rudall feels Hopefully Fast’s fresh legs might become an advantage when the Townsville Wildcard decider is contested on Tuesday evening. 

The promising young bitch was away from the races for around two months before this week’s Wildcard heats, where she finished second and qualified for the upcoming Final. 

The winner of that feature gains automatic qualification into the Townsville Cup Final on September 12.

It is a big carrot for local kennels before the influx of southern trainers descend on the North Queensland city for the rich feature event. 

Ross, who trains in partnership with his father Phillip, thinks there is more to come with his developing kennel star. 

“She is probably not one of the fastest dogs there, but she jumps really well,” Ross said.

“That is what we are banking on, hopefully she can jump well and leave it all behind her.

“I know she can run a lot faster than what she did in the Wildcard heat and I hope she can do better in the Final.”

From the four alley, Hopefully Fast jumped to an early lead in the third heat on Tuesday night before eventually being overrun by Winnie Rumble in the concluding stages. 

The Mark Partland-prepared Winnie Rumble’s winning time of 28.72 seconds was the fastest of the four heats, which bodes well for the Rudall chaser.

Hopefully Fast’s performance in the heat was her first effort under race conditions since late June. 

The trainer reported she pulled up sore from a run and she was given plenty of time to recuperate. 

Ross admits he initially feared she would be underdone for her tilt at the Wildcard series but following the heat, he believes she should come on from the run and put her best foot forward on the big stage. 

The passionate dog man labelled the field assembled for the Townsville Wildcard decider as the best he has seen of local chasers since his family has re-entered the sport over the last few years. 

“I hope she is competitive, but a few things may need to go her way,” Ross said of the Wildcard Final.

“There are some big strong dogs in this field who finish really well.

“Her strength is jumping to the front and staying out of trouble, so she needs to do that.

“I think she has to do that to be in with a chance, we are hoping for the best.”

The Rudall kennel have returned to the North Queensland racing scene over the last couple of years after taking a decade break. 

Before Phillip stepped out of greyhound racing, he had made three Townsville Cup Finals but never placed. 

They raced former top chaser Bentley Babe who campaigned through Victoria with success. 

They have 10 in work at their Nome property and hope to expand their kennel to around 15 in the near future.

Ross is a third-generation participant with his father’s aunty involved with the sport in the early days while he is passing the love of the animal through to his primary school-aged son.

“We love it,” he said. 

“It is a family thing; we are all involved.”

Hopefully Fast was purchased from New South Wales and has settled into North Queensland beautifully. 

The black bitch has run in the top two on 14 occasions from her 19 career starts. 

She boasts a career-best performance of 28.56 seconds over the 498 metre trip at Townsville which would go a long way to being competitive in the Wildcard decider if she could replicate that form.

“We have really taken it slow with her,” he said.

“We like to take our time with the dogs. She was one of the dogs who has shown promise early on, even with her style and the way she runs. 

“We could have run her twice as much as the starts she has had so far but it’s not about that for us, we just want to race the dogs and enjoy it.”

The Rudalls’ Lektra Bolt won the Townsville Young Guns crown in 2024.

Ross says it is great to be racing through a feature series such as the Townsville Wildcard with hopes of sneaking into the big Cup decider next month.

The kennel has three runners on Townsville’s Friday program of this week with Ross declaring Advika over 380 metres as their best winning hope.