Canya Scarlet on track for Brisbane test

By Josh Spasaro

If Canya Scarlet can continue to be competitive in North Queensland, she might find herself running for big prizemoney in Brisbane soon.

That is the opinion of her trainer, Jay Schafer, before her appearance over 498 metres at Townsville on Tuesday night.

The three-year-old bitch was a strong one-length winner last week, leading all the way to cross the line in 28.69 seconds.

“She can definitely stay. I’d like to see her down in Brisbane very shortly to go over 600 metres,” Schafer said.

“I think she’d go very well. She’ll be four next year, so I’ll probably look at doing it after the Stayers’ Challenge again, then she might go down to Brisbane for a few starts.”

It was last year when the Fernando Bale and Sandave Sky chaser proved her long-distance ability in good company, finishing third in the Stayers' Challenge Final on Townsville Cup night, after winning her heat.

The white and blue bitch now has almost $40,000 in career prizemoney courtesy of 11 wins from 73 starts.

Not bad for a $4,000 purchase.

“She’s been a very good dog for me. I bought her for my partner Renee and I paid only $4,000 for her,” Schafer said.

“I can’t fault her, she’s been brilliant. 

“She’s got a couple of wins over the 600 metres. She’s definitely a stayer. If you go back to the Stayers’ Challenge when she won her heat, she beat a pretty good dog that Leeanne Goodwin trained. 

“Unfortunately, she just drew bad in the Final and she ran third.”

Canya Scarlet did not draw well this week either, picking up the black rug for Tuesday night’s $4,880 race.

Schafer said that wasn’t ideal, but if she could avoid early traffic, she would be capable of reproducing her triumphant effort from last week.

“She’ll go all right. The seven isn’t her favourite - I like her on the inside,” he said.

“But, she has got a little bit of early speed. If she can stay out of trouble and get up to the front, she usually has a second wind.

“She has a bit of a flat spot down the back there somewhere and then she gets going again.

“If she’s up on the pace, she’ll be in the finish. I sprinted her the week before. That probably flattened her a bit. So, I freshened her up. She jumped and showed what she can do.”

Schafer said Canya Scarlet had the right attitude to compete in Tuesday's race, which is not short on quality.

Mark Partland has Starry Raymar going for a third straight win and kennelmate Amber Annie has two wins from her past three starts.

Hara’s Suzuki is in strong form with four wins from nine attempts this campaign for Hayley Wooler.

“Very good dogs in that race. It’s almost like a top-grade race,” Schafer said.

“Canya Scarlet has been brilliant. She’s only a small little girl, too. She’s only about 24kg, but she’s got a big heart and a big motor.”

While he has his eyes on the Stayers’ Challenge, Schafer added a shot at this year’s Group 2 Townsville Cup Final over 498 metres on September 11 was not entirely out of the question for his staying bitch.

“She goes all right. It just depends. You’ve got to pick which one is realistic for her,” he said.

“She can run time, but the heats are usually quicker than the Final for some reason.

“She’s entitled to the Wildcard, but there are still some hot dogs here for the Wildcard. See how she goes and hopefully she’ll be there.”

Schafer will also have Lovely Madeline and Complex Thinking starting in the lower grades at Townsville on Tuesday night.

“Madeline has come back good. She had a couple of niggling injuries,” he said.

“I like her drawn on the rail. She’s a little bit stagnant out there in the seven.

“I’d like her on the inside a bit more. Complex Thinking is another quick beginner, but just has a flat spot down the back.

“She’ll come again on the straight. If she’s up with the top three, she’ll go well.”