By Alex Nolan
Showdown is making a surprise trip south with $1 million up for grabs.
After running fifth in two Million Dollar Chase Regional Finals at Casino and Grafton last month, trainer Jedda Cutlack was shocked to see her $114,000 earner in the field for Friday’s seventh semi-final at Wentworth Park.
Grafton winner Respectability has been withdrawn from the series after being stood down for ten days following an injury to the near pin muscle sustained at Capalaba on Sunday.
Zipping Maserati, who finished fourth at Grafton, has since won at Maitland to gain a start in Friday’s semis.
It means Showdown was, effectively, elevated into third place in the Grafton Final and finds himself in the final 64.
Showdown will join litter sister Shaye, who qualified for the semis when running third in the Casino Regional Final.
Both have since travelled north and qualified for the Group 3 Townsville Cup Final, where Shaye was runner-up to Redemption Day.
Showdown finished seventh.
Showdown was set to start in Thursday’s Pink Ribbon Trophy over 520 metres at Albion Park from box eight.
Cutlack said she was thankful for Queensland Racing Integrity Commission stewards allowing her to scratch from Albion Park on Thursday after the dog’s unusual inclusion.
“He’ll go to Sydney for sure,” Cutlack said.
“We only knew he was qualified when the field was drawn.
“Thankfully the stewards allowed us to scratch from Thursday.”
Showdown will start from box three in race ten at 9:58pm on Friday.
He enters the race as the most experienced campaigner, having won 19 from 68.
His record at Wentworth Park, however, is a concerning six starts for just one minor placing.
“He’s a rough chance but how do you pass up an MDC chance?” Cutlack said.
“Brindle dogs have a good record in the MDC.”
Indeed, brindle dogs have won two of the four editions of Sydney’s richest race; Good Odds Harada in 2019 and Handsome Prince in 2020.
Shaye will start from box seven in race five at 8:20pm and takes on recent Nationals Sprint Champion winner, Good Odds Cash, who’ll exit box five.
Ned Snow’s gun sprinter Shipwreck has too drawn box seven in the fourth semi-final, which comes up as race seven on the card at 8:57pm.
He enters the race on the back of his last-start second in the Grafton Final.
It comes just over six weeks after Shipwreck won a Free For All event at Wentworth Park in a blistering 29.32 seconds.
Shipwreck’s full brothers Oh Oh Range and Pocket Money will line up in heats of the Group 1 Sydney Cup over 710 metre and, like their brother, have too drawn box seven.
They’ll join Queensland Origin hero Days Of Thunder in the heats, as she looks to bounce back from running seventh in last month’s Nationals Distance final over the same track and trip.
Tony Brett’s Orchestrate, which finished second in his MDC City Qualifier last Saturday, is the first reserve for Friday’s third MDC semi-final.