The Group 1 ‘drums’ are beating loudly once again for Fernando Mick in the $458,500 Sportsbet Australian Cup final (525m) at The Meadows on Saturday night.
Prepared by champion Lara trainer David Geall, Fernando Mick lines up in the $300,000 to-the-winner event – climax of the ‘Unmissable’ Australian Cup Carnival – chasing his second G1 victory, having snared the Hobart Thousand last December.
In a memorable win at his 100th start, Fernando Mick toppled Amron Boy – seen as the sport’s monarch in waiting to the world’s highest stakes earning greyhound Wow She’s Fast ($2,364,495) – in a heat by 2.7 lengths in 29.80sec.
It was the fourth fastest qualifying time – albeit only 2.5 lengths off the 29.66sec time standard, set by Baby Jaycee.
Subsequently, Fernando Mick – which has drawn box six in the final – is on Sportsbet’s fourth line of betting, at $5.50, in a race where six of the eight runners are $8 and under.
A winner of 34 races (with 21 seconds and 16 thirds), Fernando Mick ($551,776 in prizemoney) turned four years old on February 5 and to be racing with such zest at his age prompted huge praise from Geall. (He’s the oldest greyhound in the final.)
“So, to still be doing it against the best in Australia and showing no signs of slipping a notch at the 100-start mark is a massive thrill.”
“In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t imagine he’d still be racing as well. Certainly, not at this level.
“But he thrives on trying to beat dogs. He’s a competitive race dog.
“A lot of dogs, by the time they reach four, lose that ‘psychological strength’ and you just hope they don’t turn sour and get sick of racing.
“So, to still be doing it against the best in Australia and showing no signs of slipping a notch at the 100-start mark is a massive thrill for not only me but his owner, Paul Connell.”
Based at Seville East, Connell prepared Fernando Mick for his first two race starts before transferring him – on the advice of his brother-in-law – to Geall. Currently, it’s a ‘$550,000+ decision’.
A week prior to his Australian Cup heat, Fernando Mick finished fourth to Wow She’s Fast in the G1 Temlee. The heat win was Fernando Mick’s ninth success from 25 starts at The Meadows.
CLICK HERE FOR SPORTSBET’S LATEST MARKET
Geall believes Fernando Mick can lead early in the final and says, “if he steps well, he doesn’t like dogs trying to go past him”.
“Unfortunately, he’s drawn bad boxes in every Group 1 final except the Hobart Thousand.
“I think he would have run around 4.98sec to the first split if he had drawn inside, but it’s a lot harder from out wide. But he did lead early from box five in the Melbourne Cup.”
And bear in mind Fernando Mick’s record from the ‘green’ alley reads three wins and three thirds from seven starts. In fact, 13 of his wins have come from box six, seven or eight.
Geall rates NSW star Mortified (Box 2 – $3.50F) and Baby Jaycee (Box 8 – $8) as Fernando Mick’s biggest threats because of their “brilliant early speed”.
Now a six-time G1 finalist, Fernando Mick is the most ‘decorated’ runner in the final. He was also runner-up in both last year’s Melbourne Cup (won by Yachi Bale) and Maturity Classic (won by Qwara Bale).
Geall also drew comparisons with Fernando Mick in relation to his two Melbourne Cup heroes – Koblenz and My Redeemer.
“He’s a similar dog to Koblenz, but for us there’ll never be another Koblenz. Fernando Mick is brilliant out of the boxes, but Koblenz would be around one length quicker to the first turn and then another one length quicker to the ‘second split’ than him.
“My Redeemer was fast early, but also one of the most powerful finishers we’ve seen in the past decade.”
Fernando Mick is a son of stud supremo Fernando Bale, which has sired three of the past four Australian Cup winners.
Pawnote: The only other G1 winner in the Australian Cup final is SA wunderkind Victa Damian, which won this year’s National Derby.
WATCH: FERNANDO MICK (B8) captures an Australian Cup heat at his 100th start, accounting for AMRON BOY (B6) by 2.7L in 29.80sec.
