Training stalwart Noel Massina is no stranger to success in the sport.
And he’s ‘bound to succeed’ yet again – this time at Shepparton tomorrow afternoon.
Based at Golden Square, Massina has the aptly named Bound To Succeed in the Slips To Boxes Challenge final (385m).
Bound To Succeed qualified for the $1650-to-the-winner event by winning his Slips To Boxes 3 race at Longwood’s coursing meeting on July 5. (Ironically, Massina was the racecaller on the program.)
And Massina is complimentary of a concept that melds coursing with racing on the ‘circle’.
“He (Bound To Succeed) doesn’t need to go to coursing to win,” he said. “But it’s something different and I think the initiative is a good thing. However, I believe the final should be a ‘true test’ over 450 metres.”
Just under a year ago, Massina employed a coursing strategy with Bound To Succeed to land a $10,000 first prize in a prestigious Maiden event at Coonamble in NSW.
“I coursed him at Longwood, which gave him a ‘feel’ of galloping up a grass straight track,” he said. “And it was also a good way of testing his recuperative powers, as you need to back up quickly when coursing.”
Recognised as one of Victoria’s premier provincial speedsters, Bound To Succeed (Feb ’18 Dyna Double One x Marley Sprite) has won 15 races from 25 starts – including four of his past seven.
And he’ll exit from box four in the final, from which he’s undefeated in two starts.
Bound To Succeed is having his first race start at Shepparton, but Massina says he trialled 21.56sec (only 2L off the 385m track record) a couple of months ago.
“He can run near-record splits but needs a little room at the start and that seems to be his downfall,” he said. “Whatever happens early will determine the race.”
Massina rates the Ashlee Terry trained Soda Diamond (Box 7) as the main threat. Soda Diamond has won nine races from 12 starts, including the Healesville Puppy Championship.
Bound To Succeed is owned by the Groover syndicate, a six-member group who are in the sheep industry and also own racehorses.
“I also dabble in buying lambs and they asked me about getting into greyhound racing; they’re great people to train for,” Massina said.
Following the Slips To Boxes Challenge, Bound To Succeed will head to the ‘big smoke’. He’s had one run in town – at The Meadows on December 28 last year – but received terrible luck in transit.
“He also contracted canine gastroenteritis and it knocked him about,” Massina said. “It took him a couple of starts, but he’s now back to 100 per cent.”
Tomorrow’s Slips To Boxes Challenge final is Race 3 at 3.24pm.
Pawnote: Bound To Succeed’s racing moniker emanates from a ‘Bound To Industry… Bound To Succeed’ television commercial espousing the virtues of Bendigo TAFE.
