Wilma Flintstone set for Young Guns series

By Josh Spasaro

For all of Wilma Flintstone’s ability and never-say-die mindset, Rockhampton conditioner Robert Weeding admits she can be a handful at times.

But, if she brings the right attitude, she will give herself a chance in the third Rockhampton Young Guns heat on Wednesday night.

“To be honest, the whole litter is very quirky. And, quirky is putting it nicely,” Weeding said.

“They do have some traits about them. They’re fantastic race dogs.”

Wilma Flintstone has five wins from 30 starts.

The siblings Weeding referred to are Unique Ability and Unstable Mable, with eight and 10 wins from a respective 35 and 32 starts.

They are by Speed Star, who saluted on 47 occasions for the champion Dailly kennel at Geelong and out of Unique Speed, who triumphed eight times for former Central Queensland conditioner Dallas Beckett.

“My Dad (Gary) bought two of them from Dallas when he retired and those two have been really good,” Weeding said.

“But, they are definitely quirky dogs. I wouldn’t say they’re perfect at home, but their misbehaviours at home make up for it at the racetrack.

“Unique Ability has gone down to Brisbane with my brother (Luke) to have a campaign down there.

“And, Unstable Mable was going to be in the Young Guns (but injured a toe). So, she’s needed a couple of weeks from that to come back.

“She would’ve been right in it, as well. She’s excelled and got better and better with racing. It’s been really good to watch. I’m glad that Dad got a nice one.”

Wilma Flintstone has three wins from her past seven starts and was a competitive third last Wednesday night over 407 metres.

The heat on Wednesday evening is worth $3,350 and will be over the same distance.

Weeding is confident his bitch can continue her progression.

“I think she’s probably in an easier heat. But, there are some pretty fast ones there,” he said.

“She’s a very honest little girl. She’ll try her guts out, so that’s all I can ask of her. I don’t know how she’ll go. I know she’ll try, so that’s why I put her in.

“As she’s gone up through the grades, she just seems to always put herself into the race.”

Just two starts back, Wilma Flintstone saluted over 407 metres at Rockhampton on January 11, crossing the line in 23.94 seconds.

“After the start before last, she pulled up a little bit sore in the shoulders,” Weeding said.

“I fixed her up, worked on her and gave her the week off. She has that early dash, so if she can do that, she’ll put herself right into the race.”

She started from the four box on January 11 and has drawn the same lane this week.

“And, she’s got a vacant box beside her, which will definitely help give her a bit of room,” Weeding said.

“If she can step like she does, it might be a case of ‘they’ll have to run her down’. That’s because she can probably lead. So, we’ll see how it goes.”

Meanwhile, Weeding has some young chasers he is looking forward to seeing develop over the coming weeks and months, including last year’s Rockhampton Maiden 1000 Final champion, Playing To Win.

“He’s coming back. He had a bit of a break. He was showing a lot of potential,” he said. 

“And, I’ve got some dogs coming back from breakers who I’ve been getting good reports from.

“They’re by Feral Franky and the mother is Runaway Babe. We had the sister (Summer Weeds), but we didn’t breed with her.

“The guy who had Runaway Babe offered us some pups. 

"It’s exciting. I’ve bought pups before, but this is the first time I’ve had them from three months old onwards. I’m looking forward to seeing how they go.”