Few understand the importance of weight more than a boxer but even pugilist-cum-trainer Tom Heilbron was surprised after he had beefed up Freedom Whiskey from 32.9kg to 36.9kg. The result was a new Newcastle 290m track record, some three spots quicker than Deadly Act’s 25 month course best of 16.63.
The son of 2016 English Derby winner Jaytee Jet and Freedom Sandy (Vans Escalade-Freedom State) had shown some potential in Ireland but was being caught after leading in 28.20/28.30 class. He joined Gary Carmichael but Newcastle colleague Heilbron was convinced there was more to come.
Tom said: “I bought a leg in him just to get him into the kennel quite honestly. I really liked the look of him, and although he looked perfectly good carrying a bit less weight, I thought it was worth giving it a go by building him up a bit.
“To be perfectly honest though, I would never have believed he had a sprint clock in him. He is really a 450m dog and Sunderland is ideal and the Classic (in November) looks his ideal trip. We will be back for the little competition next week. It is only £500 to the winner, but while the dog is running well, I want to keep him going. After that, I’m even being tempted by the Gold Cup at Monmore.”
A fabulous 24 hours began at Towcester when Anynamewilldo landed his semi final of the Bookmakers Puppy Classic.
Tom said: “I thought it was a fabulous run to be honest. It is a great competition and there are six exceptional pups in the final, but I wouldn’t swap mine, or the trap draw. Some people say that one isn’t the ideal box at Towcester but he couldn’t have come out any worse in the semi final and still won. He has the heart of a lion and won’t give up the rail at the first bend.
“You have to respect the opposition, particularly the four, but he is a long way from the rail and I think the orange will edge in on the run-up.”
Anynamewilldo was bought unraced from Drew Richard, the Irish based Scot, who bred Havana Class who broke the Towcester sprint clock on Saturday.
So who is responsible for the ‘unusual’ racing name?
“That’s my fault”, admitted Tom. “I gave the bairn a chance to name him and he wanted ‘Mighty Eagle’ after a film he was watching. That got turned down as did two or three others.
“Another couple of names were refused too. In the end I wrote down eight, and at the bottom of the list, for a joke, put ‘Anynamewilldo’. Needless to say, that is the one they gave us.”
