Another huge evening of greyhound racing awaits punters today, with feature race finals at Albion Park in Queensland, a top-quality open class race at Dapto, and topped off in Victoria with the inaugural running of the Pink Diamond series at Warragul and Ballarat.
At Albion Park, the final of the Group 2 Flying Amy Classic is the highlight, and what a race it promises to be. The favourite in the market is the red runner, Jungle Deuce, who was simply outstanding in his heat last week in the pouring rain, lining the pockets of our followers. He is drawn to repeat the effort from last week and we are selecting him to take the $75,000 first prize back to Forbes for connections. The Dashing Corsair Final, for the stayers over the 710-metre journey, also looks a top field, and we are selecting a local dog in Pump It, a newcomer to the staying ranks. Her run last week in the heat was exceptional, recovering for a strong second after copping a mid-race check.
As mentioned, Warragul and Ballarat are the venues for heats of this new series in Victoria, which is solely for Victorian-bred greyhounds. Further heats will be conducted tomorrow at Geelong and Shepparton, cumulating next Friday night at Bendigo when all the finals will be contested and where in excess of $600,000 in prize money will be on offer for the owners, trainers and breeders of the runners. All levels of greyhounds are catered for, from the champion sprinters right down to the veteran class. We are expecting some wonderful stories to be forthcoming from this series.
Our job is to try and find some winners for the punters, something we have been quite successful in doing so of late, and at some really nice odds also. So let us get down to business.
Sandown Race 2 No 6 Osprey Phantom $4.00 at PlayUp – Wonderful start to his career winning three from his first four starts, with all wins recorded at this track and distance. Has broken 29.50 twice already, which is outstanding for such a young and inexperienced greyhound. The draw may look awkward on paper, but he does begin well and we feel that he can lead throughout again tonight.
Albion Park Race 3 No 2 Prim And Proper $3.50 at PlayUp – New South Wales visitor who had no luck last week in a heat of the Dashing Corsair when finishing well down the track. Smaller field tonight suits this greyhound perfectly as she is not a fan of pressure. We think she can lead with ease tonight and once in front, and not pressured, she is a very good stayer. The benefit of the run on the track last week will show through also we believe and we think she is our best for the night and the banker for your multi bets.
Dapto Race 6 No 6 Winlock On Top $4.80 at PlayUp – He has been a marvellous chaser over the last 18 months, winning twenty races and being placed in a further thirty-five and always at the highest level. Loves this track and distance, where he has recorded seven wins, all in fast time. Tough draw we agree, but don’t be surprised if he has the lead before the catching pen, and once in front, he wins.
Albion Park Race 7 No 4 Extra Malt $3.40 at PlayUp – A track specialist who also had zero luck here last week, in his heat of the Flying Amy. Normally a good beginner will be assisted by the empty box on his immediate outside. There is the speed in the race but we are expecting this dog to find the rails and prove too strong over the concluding stages.
Albion Park Race 9 No 2 Merchant Navy $2.15 at PlayUp – Very heavily supported last week and punters were extremely unlucky not to collect when he finished a narrow second in good time. He does lack some speed but an empty box beside him will provide him with room to gather and land on the speed. Should prove too strong in the run to the line.
