No doubting How Come’s quality in The Pledger

By Josh Spasaro

The fastest runner in The Pledger heats, How Come, takes after his dam Barcia Quality.

They were the thoughts of co-trainer Darryl Thomas after the precocious black dog who turns two on November 30 saluted by an impressive five lengths at Capalaba on Wednesday.

Starting from box five, he prevailed in a time of 19.29 seconds.

“He went really good. He’s quite strong. I still think he’s learning what the caper is,” the South Maclean-based conditioner said.

Thomas and Michelle Sultana trained Barcia Quality to seven wins from 11 starts, and she went on to become a successful broodbitch.

Her progeny Gus The Jet – by Fernando Bale – won last year’s Group 1 Vic Peters Classic at Wentworth Park, among other competitive litter siblings such as Massaro, Ginny’s Run and My Picasso.

“She was a rocket. She had some injuries, but she was extremely fast and a great chaser,” Thomas said.

“We always thought she would throw good dogs and that’s what she has done.

“In her first two litters, she’s thrown some very fast ones. She’s had a Group 1 winner in the first litter and they’ve all won plenty of races.”

Barcia Quality weighed just over 28kg in her last start at Wentworth Park on November 26, 2022.

How Come – by the late great Irish sire, Droopys Sydney – tips the scales at a formidable 37.6kg.

“He’s well put together. He’s not so much a solid dog – he’s more a long and lean dog, so he covers the ground quite well,” Thomas said.

“But he’s just got good attributes. He does a lot of things right.”

How Come looks set for a big Golden Greys Summer Carnival after Wednesday's dominant victory, with Grace Ile finishing runner-up in a time of 19.64 seconds.

He has drawn box three for the final this Sunday.

“We had this race pencilled in once we heard about it. We gave him a similar preparation about five or six weeks ago when we raced him on a Wednesday and backed him up on the Sunday just to see how he’d handle it,” Thomas said.

“He handled it really well, so there are no excuses for him this week. He’s drawn well for the final.

“This dog goes as good on the circle as he does on the straight. We decided we’d keep him there and try to protect him a little bit. 

“But once he gets through this we’ll probably school him up and get him ready for the carnival coming up.

“I’ve got no doubts he’ll be a competitor in one of those decent races.”

How Come’s litter sister, Red Hot Quality, has shown good potential with two wins from seven starts.

“We like her. She’s having a break and she’ll come back,” Thomas said. 

“I think she’s better than what she’s shown. I think she’ll also be a better dog when she gets on the two-turn track, instead of the one-turn.”

Thomas also has a high opinion of his black dog Cool Kobe, who turns two on November 18.

He is the second emergency for The Pledger Final on Sunday, edged out by Aston Ace in his heat and crossing the line in 19.66 seconds.

Cool Kobe has two wins and Wednesday’s runner-up finish from three starts.

Meanwhile, Thomas confirmed Winsome Jet has retired from track duties.

A highlight for him and Sultana was his three-and-a-half length victory in the Group 2 Queensland Derby at Q2 Parklands on January 8.

He finished his career with 19 wins from 47 starts under the mentorship of Melinda Finn in Sydney, picking up $467,917 in total prizemoney.

“He was great to us. I said all the way through it was a privilege for us to be given a dog of his standard to be trusted with,” Thomas said.

“He might not have won all the big ones, but he was there fighting to the line and running placings.

“He broke track records and it was great fun. 

“The main thing is he’s alive and well, and he’ll have a good life.

“I think Minnie’s planning on putting him to stud. Hopefully people use him. He’s an extremely fast dog with a great temperament.”

Thomas also confirmed that Ipswich Cup winner Gold Force should return to racing at some stage during the 2026-27 Golden Greys Summer Carnival from December 10 to February 4.

His last start was a victory at Capalaba at Free For All level on September 6.