Mable settles in and finds her winning form

By Josh Spasaro

Unstable Mable turns two on November 28, but already she can start well and displays a great turn of foot on the home straight.

And, that is why she has won her past three starts going into a sprint race over 407 metres at Rockhampton on Wednesday night.

Indeed, she appears a natural chaser with seven wins from 22 starts early in her racing career.

But, trainer Gary Weeding, who is based at Ironpot, just outside of Rockhampton, said it took the Speed Star and Unique Speed juvenile bitch a while to feel at home after she was purchased from retired trainer, Dallas Beckett.

“When I first got her, she was very stubborn. She wouldn’t go through gates or through doorways. She was very difficult,” Weeding said.

“Since she’s got used to me, she’s really turned a corner and now she does everything right.”

Like Unstable Mable, her sister, Unique Ability, has also shown good early potential, with five wins from 26 starts.

“I bought the two off Dallas Beckett when he retired from racing,” Weeding said.

“They’re only young. They’re not two years old yet, so they’re going pretty well. I’m really happy with them.”

Despite stepping up in grade, Weeding is confident Unstable Mable will rise to the challenge and be competitive from the seven box.

Wednesday night's last race on the card is worth $2,950.

“I give her a chance, but she’s up in grade against third-grade dogs,” Weeding said.

“But, she likes box seven. She’s got a good record out of box seven, so she’s a chance. She’s jumping OK, but she’s got that early acceleration.”

Weeding said he would eventually like to see Unstable Mable utilise her ability on the home straight over a longer distance.

“When she gets to the top grade over 407 metres, I’ll probably try her over 500 metres and see how she goes with that,” he said.

“But, she runs on pretty strong.”

Despite Unstable Mable’s raw ability, it hasn’t been an easy progression going up in the grades at Rockhampton.

And, that is because the 71-year-old Weeding believes the overall quality of racing dogs in Central Queensland has significantly improved in recent years.

“It is very strong. Years ago, the Brisbane trainers used to come up here and win everything,” Weeding said.

“They’d just destroy us. But, now it’s just as hard to win in Rocky as it is at Q1, or somewhere like that.”