Author: Editor BOAY

The proverb “An apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” has become one of the more fitting expressions in greyhound racing in recent years, mainly thanks to the exploits of last year’s Melbourne Cup (515m) winner Koblenz and this year’s finalist Paddy Wants Pats. Their respective dams – Up Hill Jill and Striker Light – were two of the best female sprinters in the latter half of the last decade, both competing against one another at the highest level during decorated Group 1-winning careers. In 2017, they faced off in…

West Australian trainer Adam Smithson is pinching himself after his kennel star Vice Grip won his way through to the Group 1 Sportsbet Melbourne Cup Final (515m) last Saturday night in trying conditions at Sandown Park. In driving rain, Vice Grip made his 37th victory from 81 starts count, running down Nitro Bale to make it through to the $1 million race. “It’s always been a goal to compete in this type of race and Vice Grip is allowing that to come true,” Smithson said. “What the dog (Vice Grip)…

“When I started training, all I wanted to do was win a trophy or a sash.” Those were the words of Daniel Gibbons before Titan Blazer contested the Group 1 Australian Cup Final (525m) in February. Nine months on, Daniel and his wife, Rebecca, have the opportunity to claim the world’s greatest greyhound race – the Group 1 Sportsbet Melbourne Cup (515m) – with Titan Blazer in Saturday night’s $1 million final at Sandown Park. “Peter Arnott was offered money to sell him, but thankfully, he made the right decision…

The importance of box draws in feature races has never been more clearly demonstrated than with $1 million Group 1 Sportsbet Melbourne Cup favourite Plaintiff. Plaintiff, trained by three-time Melbourne Cup winner Jason Thompson, was the ‘slowest’ of Saturday night’s eight heat winners, clocking 29.66sec, but after drawing box one for the Cup Final is a clearcut $2.35 favourite with Sportsbet. “In a race like the Melbourne Cup, you’ve got to make the final first; it doesn’t matter how you get there,” Thompson said. “He’s speared the lids every time…

All hail Moraine Suzie… Yes, we have a new staying monarch! She was the ‘queen in waiting’ after recently reigning supreme in the Group 1 Topgun Stayers. But the ‘coronation’ was complete after her right royal display in a heat of the G1 Sportsbet Bold Trease (715m) at Sandown Park on Saturday night. Trained by Brendan Pursell, Moraine Suzie ($2.30F) ruled with an ‘iron paw’ defeating Lakeview Patsy ($7.60) by 8.5L in a majestic 41.33sec – around 3L off the 41.16sec track record, set by Here’s Tears on January 30,…

The Group 1 Sportsbet Melbourne Cup ‘dream’ is very much alive for veteran Victorian trainer Daryl Holmes after El Dorado claimed qualifying honours in Saturday night’s ‘electric’ Cup heats at Sandown Park. The inaugural $4.1 million Sportsbet Dream Chasers Festival continued with eight ‘must win’ heats of the $650,000 to-the-winner Melbourne Cup, with thunder and lightning seeing a delay after the opening heat. When action resumed, series heavyweights She’s A Pearl and Wow She’s Fast were both eliminated, as El Dorado produced the standout performance on the clock, racing away…

Wow She’s Fast has been displaced as favourite for the Group 1 Sportsbet Melbourne Cup, ahead of Saturday night’s star-studded heats at Sandown Park, despite a remarkable last-to-first victory in the Group 3 Shootout last weekend. The Victorian superstar overcame a poor start to win the four-greyhound Shootout in a scorching 29.28sec, her 16th win from 23 starts. “That’s the second time she’s stumbled off the mat at Sandown, the previous time was in the (G1) Sapphire Crown heats,” co-trainer Kel Greenough said. “I was thinking ‘What’s going on’. But…

The ‘Bold Trease’ – Sandown GRC’s flagship staying feature – is named in honour of four-time Group 1 Sandown Cup winner, Bold Trease (1986-89). Dubbed the “Warrnambool Warrior”, the immortal Bold Trease is a dual Hall of Fame member (AGRA and GRV) and recipient of the 1987 Victorian Greyhound of the Year award. Metaphorically, Lara’s Robert Britton is a human equivalent of Bold Trease – a doyen when it comes to training stayers. Ironically, Britton has prepared four Bold Trease winners – Cheetah Zorro (2013), Fanta Bale (2017), Barcali (2018) and…