Before the box draw for the final of Group Two Black Top at Newcastle Gardens, Norm Estephan said if his father Joe's dog Here Comes Joe drew box one, they wouldn't catch him.
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Unfortunately Norm drew box five and Here Comes Joe got stuck in traffic and missed a place in the Black Top.
But on Friday at Goulburn, wearing the red rug, Here Comes Joe was unbeatable, as he won his heat of the Million Dollar Chase and qualified for next Friday's regional final.
"Yeah he took advantage of the one box really well," Norm said. "I thought that his run home was a bit slow, but there's room for improvement next week now.
"He didn't have much luck in the Black Top but thankfully he came through it okay, and he showed that today."
Here Comes Joe clocked 24.74s and after looking like he would win by a big space on the corner, he had just 11/2 lengths to spare over the Mark Gatt-trained Blistering, with Manila Beef and Optimus Dusty the other qualifiers from the heat.
But the most impressive performance from the heats came from the underrated Poppy Jack, who stepped perfectly from another box one draw, was never in danger of defeat, and stopped the clock at a very slick 24.56s, not that far outside the track record of Paua To Roar set back in 2014.
"Yeah, very happy with the run," Dannielle Matic, daughter of trainer Ruth, said. "He has always been a really fast pup, and box one always helps - if not just by stopping someone else having it.
"We have known he had plenty of ability since he broke in, and the plan was to try and qualify here at Goulburn.
"If he doesn't get through next week in the final, then we will probably go to Bulli (for their heats of the series). We will stick with the one turn tracks at the moment as at this stage we have put him around two turns yet."
Winlock Shifty ran home well to grab second, Ritza Donald third, and the resuming Tennessee Tiger a very good run in fourth, booking his berth in the final.
Neither Poppy Jack nor Here Comes Joe will have the red rug next Friday, but they will come out alongside each other however having drawn boxes six and seven respectively.
The box draw for the Goulburn regional final on Friday, September 11, is: 1 Tennessee Tiger 2 Winlock Shifty 3 Ritza Donald 4 Manila Beef 5 Blistering 6 Poppy Jack 7 Here Comes Joe 8 Optimus Dusty 9 Pink Lilly 10 Cumbria Lad.
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