Lightly-raced sprint sensation Paua Of Buddy came within .01sec of Typhoon Sammy’s week-old track record when continuing the brilliant start to his career in the Group 2 Chasers Bendigo Cup final (425m) on Saturday night.
Trained by Steve White at Buln Buln East, Paua Of Buddy was backed into $2.80 favouritism and the money was spot on as he clocked a scorching 23.29sec, missing Typhoon Sammy’s 23.28sec record set in the Cup heats by the barest of margins.
Paua Of Buddy (Box 1) and Jason Thompson’s $3.30 second elect Typhoon Sammy (Box 7), both sons of 2017 Melbourne Cup winner Aston Dee Bee, dominated betting on the $50,000 to-the-winner Cup.
In a race of incredible depth, Dr. Tucker (Box 4) at $5 and three-time country cups winner Ferdinand Boy (Box 5) at $6.90 were the other key players.
Paua Of Buddy and veteran outsider Lots Of Chatter ($34), one of two finalists trained by Graeme Jose, were best out of the boxes, with Typhoon Sammy third.
Paua Of Buddy broke clear and powered away from the gallant Lots Of Chatter in the home straight, scoring by 3.5 lengths in an airborne 23.290sec.
It was his eighth win from 11 starts as he just failed to add the Bendigo record to the Warragul 400m benchmark (22.00sec) he established at his run prior to the Cup heats.
“It’s a great thrill,” a delighted Steve White told Jason Adams post-race.
“We’ve won a lot of big races, Group 1s, but this is the first country cup we’ve won and we were hoping that we could win it with him.
“He’s a very, very special dog.
“This is only his third run against open company. His first was against Qwara Bale (G3 Warragul St. Leger heat) and he ran second and then last week and now this one. He’s got a lot of promise this dog.”
The only disappointing note for White was that his son Mitch wasn’t able to fulfil his normal handling duties with the Cup winner.
“This is for Mitch,” White said.
“Under unforeseen circumstances he couldn’t handle the dog tonight.
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“He adores the dog and for him not to be able to handle the dog tonight nearly brought me to tears. It’s a shame he couldn’t be inside the track with me and this is for him.”
White has been open in explaining that Paua Of Buddy’s fanatical chasing desire and will-to-win takes a great toll and has at times become problematic.
“We’ll just play it by ear with him,” said White.
“We have had a few issues because he absolutely busts himself and he’s down for about 48 hours after his races.
“We know what we need to do to manage it now but the whole thing about this dog is when we open the kennel door tomorrow morning and see how he is.”
The first feature on Cup night was the Vic Bred Maiden final (500m), which was a one-act affair as $1.90 favourite Mobile Legend, another son of Aston Dee Bee, trained by Daryl Brennan, backed up a fast 27.86sec heat win when careering away in 27.89sec, his second win from three starts.
The second running of the Battlers Cup (425m) saw Tier 3 greyhounds vying for a $5000 winner’s purse, with the favourite in Jordan Formosa’s Lembor ($2.40) a dominant all-the-way 23.99sec winner.
The Hip Pocket Bendigo Spring Cup final (660m) saw Rob Camilleri’s Overflow Lisa ($5.40) victorious in 37.45sec, while $1.10 favourite Music Event, prepared by Mick Carter, finished best to win the Shima Shine Match Race (425m) in 23.61sec after a few anxious moments.
Another highlight was strike rate sensation Bareki, trained locally by Dallas Massina, claiming her sixth straight win since resuming from a spell, improving her overall record to 16 from 23 with a come-from-behind 27.96sec success.
FEATURE RACE WINNERS
- MOBILE LEGEND (Daryl Brennan) – Vic Bred Maiden Final
- LEMBOR (Jordan Formosa) – Battler’s Cup
- BAREKI (Dallas Massina) – Manning Greyhound Complex G5 Final
- PAUA OF BUDDY (Steve White) – Chasers Bendigo Cup
- OVERFLOW LISA (Rob Camilleri) – Hip Pocket Bendigo Spring Cup
- MUSIC EVENT (Mick Carter) – Shima Shine Match Race
