Assassino on target for back-to-back wins at Townsville

By Josh Spasaro

Danny Preh believes he might have figured out what works for Assassino.

After buying him from Brad and Jackie Belford, the two-year-old white and fawn dog had his first start for the small Kelso-based operation on October 6.

The Sennachie and Side Step Evie chaser takes a big win into the Grade 4-5 Final over 498 metres at Townsville on Tuesday night, where he will jump from box one.

He prevailed by six-and-a-half lengths in his heat last week, crossing the line in 28.68 seconds, in what was his first victory for Preh.

“It’s just about getting him relaxed in our kennel, and then trying to figure out what he likes at the track and what he doesn’t like,” he said.

“We stopped him previewing in the past couple of starts because he’s one of those dogs who wants to go out there. 

“And as soon as you go out there for a preview, he stops. I think that’s because he’s thinking ‘I want to go to the track’.

“So we’ve basically started standing in the parade area waiting for everyone else.

“But it’s just got him a little bit more eager. That might pay off a little bit.”

Preh was impressed with the way Assassino exited box seven last week.

“It’s just taken a little bit to settle him down. If we can get him to keep jumping, he’s going to be competitive,” he said.

“We’ve only had him for five weeks, and it’s about getting used to our way of training him and feeds because Brad and Jackie Belford had him.”

Preh is hoping for a similar good start this week, after Red Hot Penny ran the fastest heat time of 28.38 seconds for Carol Pickard last Tuesday night.

“If he gets out in front he’ll give them a good sight. If he gets behind them, I don’t think he can run them down,” Preh said.

“When it comes to sitting third or fourth, I still think he’s a little bit young from a track sense.

“He’s not sure whether to go in or out, and he gives away too much then.

“There’s going to be a lot of speed in that race, especially from Carol Pickard’s bitch Red Hot Penny.

“She can run some time. He’ll need a lot of luck to go his way. He’s just got to jump good, get to the front and hope they all jam behind him.

“Red Hot Penny ran 28.38 seconds. That’s a fast time.”

Now with 10 wins from 38 starts, Preh was delighted to add Assassino to his kennels.

“I saw him and I said ‘I love that dog’. Brad said to me ‘we’re getting out of the game – I’ll get you to train him’,” he said.

“Then they started selling their dogs, and I spoke to my syndicate and said ‘I think this dog has some value’ if we could get him going as good as Brad did.

“He finally did. He jumped well and did a PB over 498 metres as well.”

Preh said Assassino enjoyed running over 498 metres at Townsville.

“I think he’s better over the 498. With his corner starts he’s not the fastest out – it just makes him look faster when it’s off a corner,” he said.

“But when it’s a straight start, he has to muster and he’s already giving them three or four lengths.

“He goes up to them pretty easily, but he just can’t find that gap. With the corner starts, he’s basically on even par.”

The 56-year-old conditioner added his ownership group was thrilled with Assassino’s win last week.

“I think there are about 10 involved now. There were a few celebrating his win on Melbourne Cup Day,” he said.

“Some expected him to jump out and win straight away, and some thought ‘we need to show him some patience’ with a new kennel.

“I hope he continues to keep going that way. Every race in Townsville has become hard anyway. It’s very competitive now.

“There were a couple of races he should’ve placed and I explained that to the syndicate.

“He’s a big dog. He’s 32kg, but he’s a lanky thing. Once he’s off his stride it takes him a bit to go again.

“That’s why I feel if he leads out in front, he will give them something to chase. And if a dog beats him then good on them because they’ll be the better dog on the day.”

Preh will also have Gurgle Pipe start at Restricted Wins level in race four over 498 metres at Townsville on Tuesday night.

The three-year-old red fawn dog has two wins from 32 starts.

“He’s a mystery for us. He ran a good second in his last 498-metre start. I think he will be a lot better on a corner start as well,” Preh said.