Wildcard a chance of delivering Belford’s Townsville Cup dream

By Josh Spasaro

Bradley Belford says he has always wanted to win a Townsville Cup since it was given Group status in 2009.

He won with Syanna in 2008, which was the last running of the Cup before it gained Group classification, and you cannot write off his entrant in this year’s edition.

Local Wildcard Final-winner Time Passages will line up from box one in the Group 2 feature worth $112,500 on Friday night. 

But, the Queensland Greyhound Hall of Fame member is experienced enough to know his chaser has a steep task ahead of her.

“That (winning the Townsville Cup) is what you always want to do. Before it became a Group race, I won the Townsville Cup,” Belford said.

“It was worth $6,000. Now we’re talking about $75,000 (to the winner). Most years I’ve had something in it.

“I had three in one year. We (Townsville chasers) are getting better. We’re getting closer.”

Time Passages was a convincing three-and-a-half length victor in the Townsville Wildcard Final on August 26, showing good heart to poke her way through early traffic.

The $26 outsider then displayed an impressive turn of foot on the home straight to cross the line in 28.80 seconds.

“She’s very strong. She wants 600 metres. In all fairness, she’s a rough chance,” Belford said.

“But, the calibre of dog in there is ridiculous. Daysea’s Rory and Travis Elson’s dog (Pop’s Maestro) is flying.

“It’s a great race. But, again, you never know. She’s pretty strong.”

Belford said Time Passages drawing box one improved her chances in a Townsville Cup Final not short on quality chasers.

“(Wife) Jackie was at the draw and she drew the one alley. You couldn’t draw any better,” he said.

“She’s just not brilliant early. In the Wildcard, she got straight there. They were never going to run her down when she got to the front that early.”

Time Passages has eight wins from 50 starts and her endurance means she will likely start over further ground at The Q at some stage after the Townsville Cup.

“If we had a 580 or 600 metre races here, it’d be great. But, she just wants further and after the Cup we’ll have to assess where we go,” Belford said.

“We’ll probably have to go south.”

If Time Passages can run a similar race to her Wildcard Final victory, Belford will be happy.

“If she can come out fair, I know the two (Zipping Vivid) is a good beginner, the four (Tripper Art) is a good beginner, as is the five (Pop’s Maestro),” he said.

“She can poke through somewhere near them, she’ll keep them in top gear.

“It’s hard to think that she could beat them, but we didn’t think that in the other one either, the Wildcard. Once they went past the 380 metre mark and she went to the front, they were never going to run her down.

“You could see that a mile away. That’s what she’s like and you always hope for the best.

“We’ll be cheering if she’s close.”

Belford said the other two Townsville chasers – Spa (trained by Rhona Essery) and Hopefully Fast (Ross Rudall) would not let down their connections.

“Those dogs have had a look. They’ve been there. Corner starts are tough,” he said.

“Hopefully Fast is a jet early – it’ll be carving from out there. That gives you a chance that there could be trouble.”

But, Belford said Daysea’s Rory for last year’s Townsville Cup-winner, Tom Tzouvelis, would be extremely difficult to run down.

Last year’s Queensland Flame Final-winner has 21 wins from 66 starts, for $442,503 in prizemoney thus far.

The three-year-old fawn dog got boxed out early from lane three in his heat last Friday, but he never panicked, getting to an outside position, before cruising home to salute by five-and-a-quarter lengths.

And, his track record time of 28.17 seconds was also comfortably the fastest of all Townsville Cup heats.

Pop’s Maestro for Travis Elson had the second-fastest time of 28.31 seconds.

“The quality of dogs, especially Daysea’s Rory – he was gone last week,” Belford said.

“He was second last and he just pulled to the outside and went zip. Pop’s Maestro and him. They’ve got that much on them, it’s a joke.

“If you look at it on paper and they both do what they do, they’ll run one-two. If they went one-out, Daysea’s would beat him.

“But, if the other dog leads and he gets back a bit, they both will go down near the record.”

Time Passages is by Group 1-winner Whiskey Riot and out of Sacred Shadow, who saluted on 22 occasions from 87 starts for Tasmanian Hall of Fame trainer, Gary Fahey.

What she lacks in size, she certainly does not lack in heart.

And, despite the quality of her opposition, Belford said she once again won’t stop trying in the Group 2 Townsville Cup Final on Friday night.

“She goes good and she’s only getting better, I think,” he said.

“Every week she seems to improve all the time. But, it’s just one step at a time.”