Tim Aloisi is cautious about South Australian revelation Ravers Army’s prospects of extending his remarkable picket fence form-line in Thursday night’s Shane McQueen Final (595m) at Angle Park.
A superbly-bred son of Fernando Bale and Bella Rico, a half-brother to 2020 Melbourne Cup hero Hard Style Rico, Ravers Army has won his past six starts, according to the form guide.
FIELDS AND FORM ANGLE PARK THURSDAY NIGHT
However, that figure is deceptive, as the ex-Victorian has actually ‘won’ nine straight, with the lone defeat during his hot streak being a fourth in a match race series, where he won his head-to-head clash.
In fact, the versatile July ’20 whelp has incredibly won 15 of his past 17 starts (20 from 43 overall) in distances varying from 455m to 643m.
“He has been a bit of a surprise packet,” said Tim Aloisi.
“He’s been very consistent and considering he’s won 15 of his last 17, he hasn’t seemed to get much recognition here in South Australia.
“The dog can run, but I’ve found his winning streak hard to believe because he’s so tardy early. He just finds a way to zigzag through the field and keeps getting the job done.”
After starting his career in Victoria with Melbourne Cup-winning trainer/breeder Luckie Karabitsakos, Ravers Army found his way to SA after Victoria-based John Dimitriadis purchased the blueblood.
However, he didn’t immediately set the world on fire for his new connections.
He was beaten at six of his first seven starts after changing hands and won just once in his first four appearances in his new home state.
“A friend of mine in Melbourne purchased the dog and he went to Dave Geall for a few runs but didn’t seem to fire, so Dave suggested he come to Adelaide and see how he goes.,” Aloisi explained.
“He was beaten at his first three runs over here, but I wasn’t worried at all.
“He’s a bit of a ‘spooky’ dog and it seems you need a few runs at Angle Park, so I think it was just a matter of getting used to our kennels and how we operate and getting used to Angle Park.
“Once he got a bit of confidence, he’s really developed into a nice dog. The Fernando Bales can be late developers too.
“He’ll trial you 30.20sec at Angle Park, which is quick, and he was only a length off the Broken Hill track record first look in the Cup heats a few weeks ago.
“One of his losses was in the (G3) Murray Bridge Cup Final over 455m, where he was beaten less than four lengths.
“But I think his ideal distance is 600-650m. I’ll probably give him another crack at ‘700’ but it’s a very hard 730m at Angle Park.”
Thursday night’s $10,000 to-the-winner Shane McQueen (race 8) over 595m is right in Ravers Army’s comfort zone, having won six from nine over the course and distance, including a 34.64sec heat victory, however he has to contend with a tricky alley in six.
“It’ll be tough,” said Aloisi.
“You never go into any race with him super, super confident because he’s so tardy early.
“But he can jump, and to be honest, he’ll need to jump in the final. You can’t give them a head-start when you get into these finals. I’m hoping he can jump with them and possie up in a good spot.
“I don’t think he’s a Group dog in Victoria, but I do want to take him back over to Sandown and see what he’ll do.”