Blue Bend's eyes reveal competitive nature

By Josh Spasaro

There’s no mucking around or playful hugs with Blue Blend – he just wants to race.

That is the opinion of his Buccan-based trainer Jeff Crawford ahead of the Capalaba Cup Final over 366 metres this Sunday.

The two-year-old lived up to his personality in his heat last Sunday, winning by a stunning seven-and-a-half lengths and crossing the line in 19.44 seconds.

If he can replicate his turn of foot inside the final 100 metres in the Group 2 Final worth $112,500, the talented Hooked On Scotch and Kiss And Cut dog will once again be very hard to beat.

And, you can be sure he will start from box two with his game face on.

“Blue Blend is just all business. From the moment he hears the lure his eyes actually turn a brighter shade of yellow,” Crawford said.

“He’s just a very serious, full-on dog. He’s all business, that dog. There’s no playing and cuddling – he’s just all go, go.

“He’s an absolute race machine.”

Crawford will have fellow two-year-old dog Miles On It starting in the Capalaba Cup Final from box four.

He also carries excellent form into the $75,000 to-the-winner feature after winning his past three starts.

Miles On It produced the fastest heat time, saluting in 19.41 seconds.

The Aston Rupee and Strike Her Pose juvenile chaser is a different personality to his kennelmate.

“Miles On It is a very immature dog who thrives on a little bit of attention. But, he likes to keep to himself around other dogs,” Crawford said.

But, one thing he does have in common with Blue Blend is his fierce desire to win once he exits the boxes.

Miles On It showed plenty of heart to hang on and edge out Secret Story for Tom Tzouvelis and Reconstruction for Jeff Cumming in his heat.

The two-year-old Secret Story has already run two times under 19.30 seconds at Capalaba.

“For him to hang on against Secret Story (was great), who probably in another bound would’ve got us on the line,” Crawford said.

“He was a bit unlucky, Secret Story. He was a bit tardy out and they had to navigate a clear passage. And, that gave us a bit of an opportunity to pinch a bit of a break after coming out and doing everything right for the race.

“That’s part of the luck in racing, I guess. You’re normally on the tail end of all that. But, it’s nice to be able to find the front and run your honest race.

“He’s been a real straight-track revelation. I’ve always had a very big opinion of the dog.”

A total of four starts back, Blue Bend also displayed immense courage to come back and salute by three-quarters-of-a-length over 350 metres at Q Straight on August 28.

“His will to win is unlike many dogs. Most other dogs would put the cue in the rack after what he had to put up with at the Q Straight that day,” Crawford said.

“But, he’s a quality dog and he’s shown that. I think the best is ahead of that dog yet and both of them actually.

“We’ve been very fortunate. These two litters have collectively won around $750,000 now.

“They’ve been very good for us. So, win, lose or draw moving forward, they’ve been very good to us and we’re enjoying it.

“But, we’ll focus on Sunday first before we aim anywhere else.”

As for Blue Bend’s impressive turn of foot inside the final 100 metres, Crawford believes it could eventually serve him well in elite longer-distance events.

“He showed what he can do on both the one-turn and two-turn tracks over the longer distance. And, I think he’ll develop into perhaps a 600 metre dog later on,” he said.

“But, for the moment while the good Group races are on over the shorter distance, we’re picking apart what’s on offer locally with him.

“He does tend to play up a bit in the boxes. But, once he gets a bit of clear running, he really does open up.

“He’s got a big stride on him and he does hit the line quite strong. So again, he’s just got to find that room early.

“And, that’s the big question mark with the box draw. I was really hoping to draw wider with both of my two chances.”

Crawford added his emergency chaser Ringbark Larry would handle himself well if he was to start on Sunday.

The two-year-old finished three lengths behind track record holder Rio Will Rock in his heat last Sunday.

“He’s a better one-turn dog. With him I wanted to try to maximise our opportunities with some straight-track racing and win those grades,” Crawford said.

“But, I’m looking forward to getting him back onto a one-turn track because he’s a very capable dog there.

“He along with a number of dogs will be aimed towards the Lakeside Cup next month. So, I’ll be looking forward to getting him back on the one-turn probably after Sunday.

“We might move him away from the straight track. He’s a nice dog and I’m a little disappointed he didn’t make the Final.

“That’s because I think he deserves to be in a really good race. But, hopefully his time will come a bit later."

Crawford won the 2018 Capalaba Cup with Leeroy Rogue, who has recorded the second-fastest time of 19.22 seconds at the straight track.

He said he would be ecstatic to win this year’s edition, but added it would be a steep task with two dogs who prefer outside boxes in a quality field.

“It was a real thrill to win with Leeroy Rogue because he was the king of Capalaba back during that era and very hard to beat,” Crawford said.

“Going into that race I was very confident. I can’t say that (due to the box draw) this weekend. The money is a lot better and the prestige has somewhat lifted, too.

“It’s a hard field. You’ve got the reigning track record holder drawn nicely.  You’ve got a couple of interstaters (Alston and Serial Sticker) who have probably got the most upside out of all of the dogs.

“You’ve got a very serious prospect in the seven (Armarta) and a real track specialist in Secret Story.

“Any dog in this race could win. You could probably run it eight times and get a number of different results.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see any dog win on Sunday. It’s going to be a very competitive race.”