Beckett confident a calmer Play Dirty is Wildcard ready

By Wayne Heming

Experienced Central Queensland trainer Dallas Beckett is confident his kennel star and track specialist Play Dirty is ready for his assignment on Wednesday at Rockhampton. 

Play Dirty can not only grab the $16,000 winner’s cheque, but can also claim a guaranteed box in the prestigious Rockhampton Cup over 510 metres on April 16 with a victory against a high-quality field in Wednesday night’s Wildcard Final.

The black dog, owned by Sonia Davis, has built a fabulous record for Beckett of 13 wins from his 15 'Rocky' starts.

That included a streak of 12 in a row between November, 2024, and his last win late last month.

His shot at 13 straight wins though proved unlucky over the 407 metre sprint trip.

He eventually finished sixth to Sweet Lollipop in February before bouncing back to win his seventh 510 metre start from eight runs over the journey last month.

In between his last two wins, Play Dirty finished a well-beaten third (8.25 lengths) behind the well-performed Juanita Thompson-trained Claretown Sadie, a fellow finalist, who will jump from the tricky five box in the Wildcard decider.

"I did a bit of work with him, he loves squeaky toys," Beckett said. 

Beckett said sometimes Play Dirty can go 'over the top' with excitement.

“I did it two weeks before the Wildcard heats and he ran third, but he was perfect last week after he had time to calm down,” Beckett said.

“I knew when I took him to the boxes before that loss he was ‘over the top’ and I knew he’d miss the start, which he did.

“Last week, he’d had another week’s break to calm him down, with nothing to stir him up and he was spot on.”

Beckett is hopeful Play Dirty can better his personal best of 29.55 seconds, from the inside alley.

His chief rival, the up-and-coming Oorah (box four), has a best time of 29.75 seconds. 

“He (Play Dirty) was perfect last week when he won his heat," Beckett said.

“It would be lovely to win the Wildcard and advance to the Final, but there are some very good dogs in the Final.

“My fella's drawn well, and Edgewood, who has drawn alongside him (box two) can get wide, but he is very fast out of the boxes. Steve Scott has a good one in Oorah, who is well-boxed. But, my bloke has a bit of class about him.”