‘Audacious’ Ballarat Cup bid

“Next big thing” Mr. Audacious will make a bold bid for Group 2 Ballarat Cup glory on Friday night.

Mr. Audacious is the dog on everyone’s lips and was the ‘talk of the town’ after an intrepid performance in last week’s heats.

Prepared at Kilmany (near Sale) by Rachael Busuttil, Mr. Audacious is one of those rare greyhounds which bursts onto the scene and makes an immediate ‘world is my oyster’ impact.

That was obvious on debut (January 29) over 395m at Traralgon when he scored by 7.8L and clocked a sizzling 21.528sec.

It was a ‘whisker’ off the fastest time (21.526sec) registered since the new ‘J-curve’ track opened and semaphored by G2 Traralgon Cup winner, Typhoon Sammy.

And the Beast Unleashed x Audacious Bell ‘wunderkind’, which turned two-years-old on Wednesday, has gone on with the job!

“If they stay off him in the first couple of steps, he’ll be off and gone.”

Mr. Audacious recently broke Shepparton’s 450m track record with a 24.66sec romp in a G2 Shepparton Cup heat prior to finishing an unlucky fifth in the final.

And he further cemented his ‘real thing’ status clocking a stunning 24.79sec (Best) in a Ballarat Cup heat. It was 0.10sec (less than 2L) off the 24.69sec track record set by Silver Lake in February last year.

Now the scene is set for his biggest triumph in the $75,025 SJC Concreting Ballarat Cup (450m) – Race 8, 9.27pm – which carries a $50,000 first prize.

A winner of five races from only seven starts, Mr. Audacious (Box 4) is TAB’s $2.20 fixed odds favourite to claim the final. He was on the second line of betting at $6.00 prior to the Cup heats.

But he’ll have his work cut out against a crackerjack field comprising country cups king Ferdinand Boy (Box 7), which is chasing back-to-back Ballarat Cup silverware, and G2 Warragul Cup winner Robbie Rotten (Box 3).

Ferdinand Boy and Robbie Rotten are quoted at $6.00 and $4.40 respectively in the Cup market.

The depth of quality in the event is further highlighted by G1 Adelaide Cup winner Do It (Box 8), 2020 G2 Ballarat Cup winner Yozo Bale (Box 2), G2 Shepparton Cup winner Substantial (Box 5), G3 Provincial Plate winner Hennessey (Box 1) and G1 Silver Chief runner-up Compliance (Box 6).

Mr. Audacious has developed a huge fan base in Gippsland, including his Rosedale owner Kevin Wainwright who says he’s “not for sale at any price”.

Busuttil adds the cult following also includes a local builder, Mark McMahon, who ironically worked on the new Traralgon GRC complex.

“Mark watched “Tex” (as he’s affectionately known) trial at Traralgon and has followed him ever since. He just loves him.”

Not surprisingly, Mr. Audacious has been the subject of several offers. The first overture came from his ‘educator’ while being broken-in at 16 months of age and the figure is believed to have been around $30,000.

An undisclosed second proffer followed his 21.79sec success at the Traralgon ‘picnic meeting’.

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And two separate expressions of interest were made after he won his Shepparton Cup heat.

“I had someone message me and Kevin was also contacted by another person, but no money was discussed on both occasions,” Busuttil said.

Mr. Audacious has only been racing for just over two months but Busuttil has already noticed his development.

“He’s just going quicker, although still learning to race… He’s matured a lot since his debut in late January.”

And Busuttil is not overly concerned about him having drawn the ‘blue’ alley in the final.

“If they stay off him in the first couple of steps, he’ll be off and gone. But they’re all top dogs and it will come down to whoever gets the luck and a clear run.”

So, when will Mr. Audacious hit the ‘big smoke’?

“We’ll continue with the country cups trail (Geelong and Warrnambool) and then build him up to the ‘500’, initially at Traralgon, and see how he handles it. It’s his home track,” Busuttil said.

“Then we’ll step him up to Sandown Park and see what happens from there.”

Mr. Audacious was bred at Boisdale by Stephanie Tyler of ‘Collinda’ fame under an arrangement with Wainwright and his wife, Di.

“He was shining like a shilling when he came to us. He was in such good nick,” Busuttil said.

“And Di has told me “Tex” has got his name on the sofa at home when he finishes racing.”

Pawnote: The Ballarat Cup – second leg of the ‘Western Festival of Racing’ – is a ‘race for the ages’, but it’s also a phenomenal night of racing with the following support features: Cup Night Match Race (450m) (Barooga Smoke vs Typhoon Sammy) – $10,000 winner-take-all; Autumn Classic Grade 5 – Winner: $7000; Special Events (390m, 545m, 660m) – Winners: $5000; Life Members Cup (450m) – Winner: $3000.

WATCH: MR. AUDACIOUS (1) produces a scintillating 24.79sec heat win, defeating the gallant Robbie Rotten (7) by 2.4L.