‘Top four’ is Russell’s aim in Golden Chase Sprint semi-final

By Pat McLeod

Former representative halfback Darren Russell isn’t plotting a victory lap for his talented, rugby league-flavoured Sironen Tiger at the semi-final stage of the Golden Chase Sprint at The Q on Saturday night.

The blistering fast youngster has drawn the four box and his experienced mentor will be rapt to finish anywhere in the top four in what is expected to be a fast-run contest on the Q1 Lakeside track.

“He has pulled up well from the heat run,” Russell explained of Sironen Tiger.

“In fact, he pulled up a lot better than he did after the recent Final (of the Rising Stars) that he contested.

“He was just a bit sore in a ligament in the front leg after that run and so I had to work on that and couldn't gallop him.

“I think his lack of prep had a lot to do with the way he performed last week (second to Jemma Daley’s Hara’s Oden, who ran a very sharp 25.20 seconds).

“I expect him (Sironen Tiger) to improve 100% on that."

Russell is keen for Sironen Tiger to run in the top four.

"Then we will worry about the Final," he said. 

“As far as the box draw is concerned, the four, well, the bottom line is you don’t worry about box draws.

“The only thing you have to do is get in that top four. Just get through.

“There will be a bit of speed in the race. The one (Hara’s Otis), two (Boom Two Down), three (Hara’s Neo) and the five (Scrub’s Blue) have all got good speed.

“This series is a real indicator of the amount of nice young pups who are coming through the ranks.”

Russell’s Hooked On Scotch and Darryl's Girl chaser carries plenty of expectation leading into the $50,000 series Final, having claimed the prestigious Vince Curry Memorial crown at his third start.

He boasts a best time at track and distance of 25.11 seconds. 

However, the experienced trainer, who is based at Innisplain, said there was only one way to manage outside expectation around the dog.

“When you have a fast dog all you can do is just try not to worry about outside influences,” he said.

“You just need to keep it all in-house.”

Russell also has Santorini Beach out of box two in the first of the two Golden Chase semi-finals. 

“He has been injury prone the last three or four months,” he said.

“I wasn't going to put him in this series, but he has got through.

“He has good speed out of the boxes, but he is a bit weak at the end.”

Russell also revealed another chapter to the already well-documented details around the Sironen Tiger name.

He and owner, longtime close friend Gaven Wicks, grew up in Sydney’s Balmain region and are staunch Wests Tigers fans.

The dog is named after Balmain icon Paul Sironen, who played for the Tigers, NSW and Australia through the 1980s and ‘90s.

“I was a year younger than ‘Siro’ and he went to school at Holy Cross, where a lot of my mates went,” Russell recalls.

“I went to Balmain Christian Brothers and knew 'Siro' a bit from junior footy days.

“He was a giant and really became ‘a name’ when he was about 15 or 16.”

Russell played rugby league for many years in the Balmain area as a halfback and made it through to that club’s President’s Cup (Under 21) side.