SA sprint sensation Cash On Delivery to tackle the world’s richest sprint race at Grafton on Sunday

SA sprint sensation Cash On Delivery will be eyeing a berth in the semi-finals of The Thunderbolt at Grafton on Sunday.

Ashlee Griffiths with Cash On Delivery following his Murray Bridge Cup win

WHEN it comes to training Cameron Forshaw now maintains a key philosophy and he’s got his sprinting sensation Cash On Delivery to thank for it.

On Sunday night at Grafton, almost 2000 kilometres away from his South Australian base at Lewiston, the Forshaw-trained Cash On Delivery will step out in a heat of the world’s richest sprint race, The Ladbrokes Thunderbolt (350m).

FIELDS AND FORM GRAFTON SUNDAY

The rising four-year old son of Zambora Brockie and mercurial producer Shilo does so with the imposing record of 33 wins and 13 placings from 51 career starts, all but one of those appearances in South Australia.

But while on face value it might appear that it’s been relatively smooth sailing throughout a glorious career thus far, his 26-year-old trainer paints a vastly different story.

“He taught me the rule not to make a call on a dog until they’ve at least hit two years of age,” Forshaw, who trains with partner Ashlee Griffiths, said.

“Early on he didn’t really show a lot at all and actually got beat his first three starts. On debut he got beat by another dog of ours that only won the one race.

Cash On Delivery will tackle the heats of The Thunderbolt on Sunday

“He couldn’t break 20 seconds at Angle Park (over 342m) and he eventually got down to 19.26. At Gawler he couldn’t break 23 seconds (over the 400m) and he got down to 22.28.

“The constant improvement in him over time has been unbelievable.

“To see what he was to where he is now has taught me to give them that time and be patient. He’s proof that it can pay off.”

Cash On Delivery has drawn box five in heat two of The Thunderbolt on Sunday night where he’ll be looking to extend on a remarkable 12-race winning streak.

However, it will be his first start since April 21, sidelined with a monkey muscle injury for the best part of six weeks.

“He’s over with John Thomas and has settled in great,” Forshaw said.

“John trialled him at Grafton on Monday and he went 4.08s early and 19.98s overall which he was really happy with. His response to me is he hasn’t gone super, super … he’s just gone super.

“We would have liked an extra few weeks with him coming back but it is what it is. He’d only had the one hand slip.

“We actually looked at this race for him last year but it clashed with the Murray Bridge Straight Track Cup which he went on to win.

“He’s not getting any younger so we thought if not now, when? We didn’t want to be sitting at home wondering if he’s good enough or not.

“This way we get to find out.”

There is little margin for error in Cash On Delivery’s The Thunderbolt assault with only a victory on Sunday assuring him a place in the following week’s semi-finals.

The $75,000-to-the-winner finale is slated for Saturday June 22.

Originally published as SA sprint sensation Cash On Delivery to tackle the world’s richest sprint race at Grafton on Sunday