What a great night of racing we witnessed, last night at Sandown Park, when the Speed Star series was conducted over all three distances, 515, 595 and 715 metres. Twenty four events, all with just the two greyhounds matched against each other, in head to head racing.
In the Bill Collins (515m) it was the rising star, Aston Rupee from the Glenn Rounds kennel, who took the overall honours in a very fast 29.055, confirming his position as the fastest dog in the state. This dog has it all before him, and with races like the Vic Peters Memorial, Maturity Stakes, Million Dollar Chase, Melbourne Cup and The Phoenix to contest in the next six months, this dog could well become our next million-dollar chaser.
Backing up from his brilliant win in last weeks Sandown Cup, and despite the drop back from the staying trip to 595 metres, Zipping Rambo was far too good for his rivals, recording a very fast 33.772 in winning the Racecallers middle distance event. He certainly is an extremely versatile chaser, and we look forward to him contesting the major staying races over the upcoming Brisbane Winter Carnival. He will be highly competitive over whatever distance connections decide to tackle.
In the distance event, the Paul Abela stayer Five Stars, announced himself as a very serious animal when he gave the favourite Hank The Hustler, a start and beating, in winning the Lizrene in the very good time of 41.498. He also will head to Brisbane for the carnival, so what a series it promises to be.
Tonight, at Albion Park, that winter carnival does lick off tonight, with heats of the listed Dashing Corsair for the staying greyhounds, plus heats of the Group 2 Flying Amy, an age-restricted event named after one of the darlings of Queensland greyhound racing from yesterday. The interstate raiders are prominent throughout the heats of both events and making it difficult for punters, is the fact that many of the interstate runners will be having their first look at the track tonight. Albion Park is a tough track to win at first up, so punters will need to be cautious in their approach.
Albion Park Race 2 No 4 Maggie Moo Moo $2.50 at PlayUp – Returns to her home state hereafter being ultra-competitive in Victoria in her most recent starts, finishing 4th last week in the Sandown Cup final to Zipping Rambo. There is no Zipping Rambo in this race. She loves this track, and she looks like the winner for us.
Albion Park Race 4 No 7 Jungle Deuce $2.80 at PlayUp – New South Wales performer who brilliantly won the Dubbo Cup last week at his latest start. He did a trial between races here three weeks ago, and he will benefit greatly from that look. Despite being a railer, he does seem to begin better when drawn off the track, so the box does not concern us. Yes.
Albion Park Race 7 No 6 Enthusiastic $4.00 at PlayUp – A winner of three races at this track and distance, and trained by local maestro Tony Brett, the dog has the speed to settle on the pace and should prove too strong over the concluding stages. His main rivals have been racing interstate, and despite being high-quality dogs, with are banking on the local knowledge to help get the job done for this dog.
Sandown Park Race 8 No 4 Radek Bale $4.60 at PlayUp – He has been costly for punters in recent starts, and on face value, has been disappointing in a couple of his races. He does like the room to move, and from this draw, we believe the greyhound drawn in box 3, can create a passage for Radek Bale to get that room he needs. Capable of running very fast times. Each way odds so appears nice value.
Sandown Park Race 11 No 5 Oakvale Style $3.80 at PlayUp – South Australian greyhound, now in the strong Jeff Britton kennel, has no luck in her two starts here at Sandown since arriving. The empty box inside her is a huge plus, and this field is far from being strong. We have rated her the best bet of the night, so structure all your multi bets around her.
