Rudd’s Cup dreams shift to Harper Spiller

By Jordan Gerrans

Victorian dog man William Rudd initially travelled north to Townsville with Cup ambitions, but is now comfortable shooting for minor honours after the smart victory of Harper Spiller on Tuesday evening.

The fawn bitch was a strong winner in a heat of the Binks And Marlene Walker series over 380 metres and will progress through to the semi-final stage, with aims of landing in the decider thereafter.

The two-year-old chaser finished second to No More Beer in her first look at Townsville under race conditions four days earlier, before landing her first victory in North Queensland on Tuesday.

From box one, Harper Spiller got home in 21.96 seconds as she justified her short quote of $1.45.

Rudd, who is based at Greater Bendigo in country Victoria, was pleased with the performance and is hopeful she can progress through the series.

“She was pretty good,” Rudd said.

“She did miss the kick a little bit, but her run behind No More Beer was quite good on Friday. She came up here on a limited preparation.

“She got injured a week before I was coming up here and I lost three or four weeks with her.

“I only gave her one trial at the track, which wasn't that good a trial.

“But, anyway, I had to put her in. She hadn't been out of the boxes when she raced against No More Beer and he only beat her by a nostril. I was quite happy with the run.

“She was on the quick backup on Tuesday and missed the kick a little bit off the inside. She hunted up and she did a good job to win.”

Harper Spiller was already a four-time winner at Shepparton before heading north.

Veteran dog man Rudd has long frequented Townsville for the annual Cup carnival, but this is the first time he has brought a team of dogs.

He previously used the trip as a holiday alongside fellow trainers Brett Hazelgrove and Bradley Woods and local club boss Michael Fusco.

Rudd headed north with Harper Spiller and kennelmate Loves A Chat, while also planning to campaign Ralph Wiggum through the upcoming Cup series.

Ralph Wiggum is prepared by Michele Berry in Bendigo, with Rudd looking after the racer on a caretaker basis.

The son of Bernardo is a city winner in Melbourne and would have been a worthy contender through the Cup heats, but Ralph Wiggum suffered a minor injury concern in a Townsville trial and will be heading home.

“I thought I had the ideal dog in Ralph Wiggum,” he said.

“You see, I haven't had the class of dog before to bring up here for the Cup and the Cup's worth $75,000, so you've got to have a crack at it.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t go to plan.”

Loves A Chat also picked up a slight injury concern in a trial at the NQ venue.

However, Rudd is hopeful she can still find a winnable race during the campaign.

“I may get one run into her,” he said.

“I may be able to get one trial into her and put her in a 380 metre race, but I'm not 100 per cent sure yet. 

"She is a bit quicker than Harper Spiller.”

Harper Spiller goes to the semi-final of the long-standing Binks And Marlene Walker series on Tuesday, aiming to book a place in the Final, which will be run on Townsville Cup night.

“I have got a little bit of prizemoney so far. She got beaten a nose the first start and won the second start,” the trainer said.

“I've got my expenses back so far (laughs).

“So, if I can run one or two in the semi-final, we go through, but there's a couple of fast dogs in there. Don't worry about that.

“Harper Spiller is flying the flag for the team at the moment.”