Blue Bandit poised to steal Col Harris Gold Sovereign crown

By Isaac Murphy

Three heats of the Col Harris Gold Sovereign were run and won at Ipswich on Saturday night, and as impressive as the heat winners were, it was a runner-up performance by Roan Enright’s Blue Bandit that was the clear blackbook runner for the final.

The dog stormed home from the back to finish second in heat three, booking his spot in the final making what was already a good night better for the trainer, who earlier saw litter brother Fire Drill score in spectacular style over the 500 metres.

The Col Harris series looks hand-made for a dog like Blue Bandit, fresh to the trip and just qualifying with four wins to his name, Enright is rapt to be involved as a pathway to a staying career opens.

“The Col Harris came at a good time for us, Blue Bandit has been a hard dog to keep in work as he’s had a few problems but he was always going to be a stayer and he comes into this race fit and healthy and will run all day,” Enright said.

“He’s just got into a bad habit of missing the start from the 630 metre boxes at Ipswich, he got himself in a fair bit of trouble in the heats back in the second half of the field, it would have been a bit of a tragedy to not see him in the final the way he ran home so I’m glad he grabbed second.”

Blue Bandit will have to run quicker time than heat winners Hara’s Penny, Javens and series favourite Mahogany Row if he wants to win this Saturday’s final but Enright knows he’s got the engine to do so.

“It’s going to be a fair race come Saturday, there’s a lot of dogs there capable of winning on the night but I’ve just got to hope my guy gets a bit of luck, first of all with the box draw and secondly in the run,” he said.

“Looking at the field I think we’ve got comfortably the best run home, I worked out Mahogany Row came home in 12.30 and we went 12.20, so if we can just sit that little bit closer in the run we’re a big chance.

“Ideally I’d love him to come up with box one or box three, that way he gets the inside draw and he doesn’t have to wait behind the boxes to come up with the second row, he can just get a bit edgy behind the lids when he’s waiting for the first line.”

Enright admits there are cracks in Blue Bandit’s armour, but he’s seen far more brilliance from the dog than bad habits.

“He’s the type of dog that lacks that week-in week-out confidence, his win three starts ago he charged straight to the front and led them the whole way from box six, then walked out and charged home last Saturday - it was chalk and cheese,” he said.

“When he sees clear running he never hesitates, it’s just a matter of when he sees it.

“It’s easy when you get to the front but he didn’t see daylight until the last 200 metres in his heat and almost left it too late.

“Once he overcomes those few little vices, I think he’s got the scope to turn into a really handy stayer in his own time.

“The whole My Bro Fabio/Hannah Marie litter will turn into 600 and 700-metre dogs in my opinion, they’ve just taken a while to mature but I’m hoping they can really go on with it.”

Enright has loved what he’s seen over the 630-metre trip from Blue Bandit and believes now is as good a time as ever to go to the 710.

“I think I’ll go straight to the 700 after this weekend, I think that little bit of straight before the first corner from the 710-metre start at Albion will suit him down to the ground, everything he’s doing says he’s ready for it,” he said.

“That’s where I’ll be looking with him over the next month or so with all the big gun stayers having a rest after a busy winter, he should get in some moderate 700-metre events and really learn his trade.”

Blue Bandit’s brother Fire Drill would have been a walk-up start for the series had he not won too many races, with his 30.43 victory over Valentino Fox earlier on the card showing his raw ability.

“He’s a very tricky dog to get a handle on, ability wise he’s one of the better sprinters around; everywhere I trial him he goes sensational, but put him in the field and he just has a bit of a non-chasing side to him,” Enright said.

“When I say non-chasing, he just doesn’t want to be crowded, he just wants to be left alone and if he gets things his way, he’s the best in the litter by some margin.”

Enright has tried Fire Drill from the 431 to the 630 metres but thinks he has settled on his pet trip after a few trials and tribulations.

“It’s taken me a while to work out his ideal distance but long-term I’m fairly set on sticking to the 600 with him, even though he came out and ran 30.43 over the 500 Saturday night,” Enright laughed.

“I think the 600 just gives him a bit more room to get mobile during the race, he jumped the best he ever has on Saturday night and if he can bring that to his 600-metre racing with his middle section he could run some real time.”

The brothers aren’t the only dogs Enright races out of the litter, and even though their future may be over more ground his first assignment is a crack at the lucrative Ipswich Auction Series.

“I’ve got a couple of others from the litter, Slipknot is one who’s shown ability over the 600 but has just gone off the boil at the moment and Dark Bandit who won three in a row at Ipswich over the 500,” Enright said.

“They’re all Ipswich Auction dogs, so we’ll put their staying aspirations on the backburner for a couple of weeks and give them a crack at the Ipswich Auction Series which they’re all paid up for.”