Pop ready to make his mark at Capalaba

By Josh Spasaro

He has started in just 28 races, but Corey Mutton believes Pop Said Yes is ready to make a significant impression on straight track racing.

The two-year-old brindle dog nicknamed ‘Pop’ will jump from box five in the fourth Capalaba Cup heat on Sunday.

The Palm Beach conditioner feels he will be hard to beat if he brings his best form.

The Mr. America and Tin Tin Speckle-bred giant tips the scales at almost 38kg and just needs to start well in his race. 

“The other week when Big Al's won a $7,000 race at Capalaba (Chicka Scott Appreciation Final), I trialled him before the first,” Mutton said.

“He ran 19.50 seconds and came out in 1.98 seconds.

“Big Al's went 19.52 seconds and he went 1.75 seconds early. If he comes out well, it doesn’t matter who it is.

“That’s the only reason I keep running there. I like the track and my daughter likes it. 

"But, if I get a tailwind there and he jumps and decides he wants to do it, I know he can break the record.”

Mutton added his kennel star “broke the clock” at Q Straight last Saturday.

“The clocker thought he went 18.60 seconds at worst. That was on a trial morning,” he said.

“Nothing went that close to him.”

With 16 wins to his name from 28 starts, Mutton said the welfare of Pop Said Yes always came first.

“I don’t get many throws at the stumps, you could say, like a bigger kennel,” he said.

“So, it’s rare for me to get a good dog because the numbers game is against me.

“I like to get longevity out of them rather than it being fast, furious and next race.

“I said to my wife that we could put him away for six months and bring him back for the Masters and give them a nightmare.”

Mutton also likes Party Pants from box eight in the third Capalaba Cup heat on Sunday.

The three-year-old red fawn dog by Bernardo and out of Barsandi won his second race from 22 starts when saluting over 520 metres at Q2 Parklands on Thursday night.

“He’s a nice dog and I think he’ll get 600 metres,” Mutton said.

“He’s had a couple of trials there and he was tracking better than (kennelmate) Vermentino. If you run 19.80 seconds in your first run there (Capalaba), you’re going to run 19.50 or 19.60 seconds. 

“Getting below 19.50 seconds is when you become electric.”

Party Pants has had just three starts for Mutton after he was sent to the Gold Coast by New South Wales trainer Neil Falls, who owns him.

“I like Party Pants. He doesn’t have the resume, but Neil is a close friend of mine,” Mutton said.

“He was racing for fun on the side while he was doing his other things.

“They’ve gone overseas for a couple of weeks and he asked me to look after him.

“It’s amazing - when you look at the form I’ve got with these dogs, they’ve been set up for racing.

“Not just thrown in to go around. So, I’ve put a bit more effort into them.”