Sensational night of greyhound racing ahead of us tonight at The Meadows in Melbourne, with the running of three Group One races, plus a super support program. The Top Gun Sprint (525m), the final of the Hume Cup (600m), and the Top Gun Stayers (730m), all have attracted quality fields and are all worthy of their Group One status, with finding the winners no easy task. Any of our followers who are located in the Melbourne area should make their way to The Meadows tonight, as it will be well worth the trip just to witness these three wonderful races.
Let us reflect for a moment, on what happened on Wednesday evening at Wentworth Park in Sydney. She’s A Pearl became the highest stake money earner in the long history of greyhound racing with her win in a Free-For-All, a race only worth $4,500 to the winner but enough to take her earnings ahead of the great Fanta Bale. The win took her career tally to $1,367,970, placing her narrowly ahead of the previous record which has stood for almost five years. And she sure did it in style, defeating her three quality rivals by seven lengths mad recording the outstanding time of 29.34, just 0.04 slower than her fastest ever time the track of 29.30 which she recorded in winning the 2021 Million Dollar Chase final. Massive congratulations must go to her trainers, Jodie and Anthony Lord, who have done an outstanding job throughout her career especially in recent times when injury and illness looked likely to intervene on her racing career. But the win on Wednesday confirmed that she is now back to her brilliant best, and she will now head to Melbourne to tackle the Melbourne Cup at Sandown followed by The Phoenix at The Meadows, a victory in either of these races would catapult her career earnings above the $2,00,000, something we all considered impossible not that many years back.
Our selections tonight will concentrate fully on the program at The Meadows, where we will attempt to find, for our followers, the winners of the three Group One events plus our best bets in the supporting races.
Race 5 Hume Cup Final No 5 Aston Velvet $6.00 at PlayUp – This is an extremely tough race, with the fastest heat winner, Pocket Money, drawn poorly in box 8. The way the marbles have fallen, we are expecting Aston Velvet to find the lead in the run to the first turn, assisted by the dog on her inside crashing to the rails. Once on the lure, she can run some serious time, as evidenced by her fast heat run. Look for Jarick Bale, who will be storming home, as the main danger. Selections: 5-4-6-8.
Race 6 Top Gun Stayers No 6 Untapped $7.00 at PlayUp – Winner of the richest staying race in the country, the Sandown Cup, back in May but has struggled with some minor issues since which have seen her sparingly raced. We have liked her most recent runs over a middle distance, and are expecting her to thrive by stepping back up to her pet journey tonight. Bold front runner who is strong also. Days Of Thunder is a huge danger if she can secure a clear passage as she is a back marker. Selections: 6-8-4-3.
Race 8 Top Gun Sprinters No 2 Zippy Tesla $5.00 at PlayUp – Outstanding field of sprinters to face the starter, and the dash to the first corner will be intense. Zippy Tesla loves an inside draw, loves the track, and has great field sense. We are expecting him to come out of the first corner in the leading three, maybe sitting in French Martini and Photo Man. His strength is his greatest asset, and we expect him to be too strong late. The favourite is a huge risk from her awkward box five draw. Selections: 2-1-4-5.
Race 2 No 1 Yachi Bale $2.70 at PlayUp – Absolutely no luck here last week in his heat of the Hume Cup from a wide draw, but still hit the line well. Loves an inside draw and we are expecting him to have enough speed to hold the rails and the lead . Once on the lure, that should be the race. Can run some serious time when given a clear run. Best bet of the night, banker in all your multi bets tonight.
Race 4 No 1 Mepunga Raider $4.00 at PlayUp – Burst on the scene a couple of months back with a couple of stunning sprint wins in fast times. It would be fair to say he has been disappointing of late however. Now being tried as a stayer, and his first up effort at Sandown was solid. Will be improved by that run so we are expecting him to go one better tonight. Small field suits.
Race 7 No 7 Shipwreck $4.80 at PlayUp – Queensland trained greyhound who had his first start at the track here last week, winning in great fashion after being checked a number of times in the run. Expect big things from this fellow in the coming months, and this race can help catapult him forward. Very nice odds for a greyhound of his ability.
Race 12 No 2 Spring Renegade $3,90 at PlayUp – Well performed New South Wales greyhound making his first appearance in Victoria. Has excellent form, winning nine times to date, and has recorded some fast times in doing so. Looks very well graded in this event and, hopefully, can provide us with a great end to the evening.
