By JASON ADAMS
JOEY Valdez continued his outstanding form from outside boxes with an ultra-impressive win on Thursday at Sandown Park.
Jumping from box eight, Joey Valdez didn’t show electric pace out of the pink box, however was given room to muster speed and round-up his rivals on the approach to the first bend.
Given Joey Valdez’s ability to finish strong he looked in the box seat down the back straight, three lengths behind early leaders Papa Hook and Dyna Fancy.
Entering the home straight Joey Valdez unleashed his trademark finishing burst to win by a length, completing the 515-metre trip in a swift 29.52sec.
Trainer Ben Divirgilio was satisfied with the run, however had a range of different confidence levels throughout the race.
“Down the back straight I was confident he was home, then around the final bend I thought he may of been in some trouble,” said Divirgilio.
The win extended Joey Valdez’s unbeaten record from boxes seven and eight, further improving his strike rate having won nine of his 21 career starts.
With heats of the Group 3 Sir John Dillon Memorial to be held this Thursday night over 595 metres, a rise in distance could be imminent for Joey Valdez.
“Ideally I’d like to nominate him in some heats over the sprint distance, however with the Sir John Dillon heats this Thursday night I’m tempted to give him a go.”
