Lightly raced speedster Aston Jupiter is still learning his craft, but trainer Graeme Jose expects the blueblood to win Sunday’s GRV Vic Bred Series Grade 5 final (440m) at Sale, with one proviso.
“If he steps, he wins the race,” said Jose bullishly.
Greyhounds don’t come with better breeding than Aston Jupiter, with his sire 2017 G1 Melbourne Cup hero Aston Dee Bee and his mother champion stayer Sweet It Is, a multiple G1 winner.
But early on it appeared Aston Jupiter’s regal bloodlines would count for little, with below par pre-training reports landing him in ‘no man’s land’ for four months before owner Ray Borda called on G1-winning Catani mentor Graeme Jose.
“Ray (Borda) asked me to have a go with him and we put lots of time into him, plenty of pats and attention,” Jose explained.
“I like the dog. He’s a damn hard chaser and he’s that keen he rams the front of the boxes trying to get out. He doesn’t always time the start but when he does, he begins beautifully.”
The winner of three from nine, Aston Jupiter didn’t get the start right from box six in last weekend’s Sale heats, but he ran home strongly to finish second, beaten only half a length, and Jose says the move to box one is a huge plus for the $3300 to-the-winner final (Race 7 at 6.32pm).
“He was badly boxed last week and the thing I really liked was that he went around other dogs, which he wouldn’t do originally,” Jose explained.
“He’s a mad railing dog – probably the worst I’ve ever had – and early days it was just fence, fence, fence!
“He’s still a work in progress but I can’t see anything beating him if he gets the start right.”
Lady luck was shining on Jose with box draws for Sunday’s meeting, with Perfect Product, which has won three of his eight starts and two from two at Sale, also drawing the ‘red’ for Race 5 at 5.49pm.
“He’s a very nice dog and it’s a lovely draw for him too,” Jose said.
“He’s had a few little injuries at his last couple of starts and has been out for about three weeks.
“I don’t know what’s going on with these boxes. Lots Of Chatter also had box one in a Harrison-Dawson heat on Thursday night (finished a close third and is second reserve for next Thursday’s G1 final) but I’m not complaining!”
Jose is also extremely bullish about the prospects of Hypo Harry (Race 1) and Gold Skulltula (Race 2) – Ritza Lenny x Enlightenment litter brothers that will make their debuts at Sale.
“They both should be winning,” Jose said.
“I trained a dog called One Required, which made the G2 Gosford Cup final, for their owner Joshua Jones and he promised me if he ever got another decent one, he’d send it to me. He was true to his word.
“These pups are half-brothers to One Required and both dogs are going quite well.
“Hopefully the four dogs will all run well but I took five dogs to Sale last Sunday and only got two seconds so I’m not getting carried away!”
WATCH: Aston Jupiter (6) finishes a desperately unlucky second to Dr. Knuckles (6) in a GRV Vic Bred Series Grade 5 heat at Sale last week.
