The New Year promises to be another huge one for greyhound racing in NSW and we've highlighted a dozen greyhounds you should keep your eye on throughout the 2023 season.
She was the undisputed queen of NSW chasing in 2022 and deservedly so after taking out the G1 Golden Easter Egg and the May edition of the Million Dollar Chase, all while racking up a magical 13-win streak between February and August.
A maiden trip interstate to run third to Wow She’s Fast in The Phoenix capped off an unforgettable year and it seems like 2023 will hold more of the same if her heat win in the Gosford Gold Cup is anything to go by.
She’s A Pearl will jump a heavy favourite in the first Group race of 2023 on Tuesday night, then it’s full steam ahead towards the G1 Paws Of Thunder.
Will she be racing long enough to defend her Easter Egg and MDC crowns? Only time will tell.
But with Andy Lord already declaring he is prepared to race for as long as he can in 2023 before breeding with her, She’s A Pearl will be the number one box office ticket for at least the early part of 2023.
His back half of 2022 was as impressive as we saw and with Super Estrella off to the breeding barn, Cawbourne Magic can quickly assert himself as the premier stayer in NSW in 2023.
Wins in the Dapto Middle Distance Championship, Newcastle Cup and Group 3 CHRIStmas Cheer Invitational sandwiched a runner-up finish in the G1 Bold Trease Final in Victoria, and the son of Fernando Bale has put the writing on the wall for an even bigger campaign in the New Year.
His first big target will be the Group 2 Summer Distance Plate, then he’ll set his sights on the only Group 1 staying race on the NSW calendar, the Association Cup in April. After that, the second running of the world’s richest staying race, ‘The 715’ at the Gardens beckons in May.
It was a meteoric rise for French Martini in 2022, with her initial success in the Robert Smith Memorial at The Gardens in March followed up by a third placing in the G3 New Sensation, a win in the G2 Ladies Bracelet, and finals of the G2 Flying Amy and G1 Peter Mosman Opal all within three months of her debut.
Trainer Peter Lagogiane took his time with his new kennel star before unleashing her during the September edition of the MDC where she ended up running sixth in the Final behind McInerney.
She was back on track less than a week later in the Black Top where she set a new track record (28.96) and became the first greyhound in history to break the 29 second barrier at The Gardens.
French Martini went on to claim the Black Top Final in fine fashion ahead of ZIPPING Kygrios before an unsuccessful trip to Melbourne took up most of her November.
She will go around in the Gosford Gold Cup Consolation on Tuesday night but at two-and-a-half years of age, she looks to be entering her prime, making 2023 an exciting prospect for all involved.
She’s a Group 1 winner now after taking out the Dapto Megastar in December and she’s another who had a fantastic 2022 with 14 wins to her name.
That Megastar win came only weeks after a second in the Dapto Middle Distance Championship and preceded her heat win in the Gosford Gold Cup last Tuesday. She’ll jump from the tricky Box 6 in the $40,000-to-the-winner Gosford Gold Cup Final and still has a few months before her third birthday to rack up another feature win or two.
Good Odds Emma hasn’t missed a beat since switching kennels and ownership in the back half of 2022, but under the watchful eye of JODIE and Andy Lord she could be a real feature fancy in 2023.
Now that she’s a Group 1 winner, one would assume the breeding card must also be in play at some stage this year, so let’s enjoy her while we can as she looks to add to her already impressive prizemoney total of $166,015.
Fifth in the G3 Magic Maiden Final in April, third in the G3 Bob Payne Sprint Final in May, second in the G1 National Sprint Championship Final in August and then after spending two months off the track with injury, he ran fourth in the G3 CHRIStmas Gift Final in December.
That form line reads like a greyhound on the rise and 2023 could not come quicker for trainer Pete Rodgers.
Simply Limelight went on a nice winning streak midway through 2022, racking up six straight victories which included triumphs over the likes of G1 winners Ritza Donna and Bandit Ned.
The streak was only broken by Good Odds Cash in that National Sprint decider by 0.10 of a length, and if it wasn’t for injury, Simply Limelight loomed as a major contender for the October MDC.
It wasn’t to be though, with the two-year-old out of Guiding Light by Kinloch Brae resting up before rounding back into form in the latter part of the year and winning three more races in town.
He will step out in the final of the G2 Queensland Derby on Thursday night where he will lock horns with some of the emerging stars of Australian chasing.
How much longer will he continue to compete? That’s the big question around ‘King Kyrgios’ with his fourth birthday looming on January 29.
He’s still racing in fine form and he had another successful season for John and Minnie Finn in 2022, winning nine races including the first ever Country Classic at Dubbo and the G2 Gosford Gold Cup at the beginning of the year.
Kyrgios also ran second to McInerney in the September edition of the MDC, second to French Martini in the Black Top Final in October and fourth in the Group 1 Topgun Invitational in November to prove he can still more than match motors with the best greyhounds in the land.
He’ll also go around in the G2 Golden Sands Final at Albion Park on Thursday night in another indication he’s still got what it takes to feature in big money races.
He’s a veteran of 81 race starts and has won more than $570,000 in prizemoney, but are connections still searching for that elusive Group 1 win?
The dog many are tipping to be the heir to the ZIPPINGKyrgios throne once he does eventually retire enjoyed a wonderful start to his chasing career, going unbeaten through his first eight race starts.
He took out the Zoom Top Maiden at Goulburn (which is proving to be a red-hot form reference) and quickly progressed through the grades at Wentworth Park before suffering his first loss to Mortified on October 1.
From there he was only able to win once more to round out 2022, with the step up in class proving a difficult learning curve for the talented youngster.
Already a winner of nine races from 16 starts with more than $84,000 in prizemoney to his name, ZIPPING Orlando has stamped himself as one of the most exciting prospects to watch in 2023 and although he hasn’t raced since December 10, he will be one of the favourites for the G1 National Derby in the coming weeks.
Another young blood who seems set to explode in 2023 is Showman Jack for John Smart.
Yes, he’s yet to add any significant trophies to the cabinet he only turned two in October and already has 11 wins, over $60,000 in prizemoney and a flying Wenty Park PB of 29.51 alongside his name.
He ran fourth in the Young Star final behind ZIPPING Orlando in September and after having a crack a the G2 Queensland Derby last week, John Smart will have options for what he does next.
Showman Jack showcased some potential staying chops in an impressive win over the Gosford 603m a few weeks ago and his mother Lovelace won over the Dapto 600m trip on three occasions while also claiming five wins over the Wenty Park 720m journey.
Lovelace was also G1 placed over 710m in QLD so staying races could well be on Showman Jack’s cards in 2023.
Jason Magri will be pinning his hopes on ZIPPING Novak taking the step from emerging talent to established talent in 2023 and what better place to start than the Gosford Gold Cup Final on Tuesday night.
He’ll jump from Box 4 in what looks like a red-hot decider but this is the sort of company ZIPPING Novak can expect to keep in 2023 if he is to take the next step in his chasing career.
He burst onto the scene with an impressive 5.5 length romp over Ibrox Wildfire in last April’s G3 Magic Maiden Final and his 2022 culminated in a G3 CHRIStmas Gift Final appearance where he had no luck running eighth behind Hold Me Up.
Magri experimented with him over the middle distance at Dapto in the back part of 2022 and he did well to make the Dapto Middle Distance Championship Final, but with a scorching PB of 29.47 at Wenty Park on his resume to go with 13 wins from 27 starts, he’s certainly a dog worth following in 2023.
A young gun who emerged as one to watch in 2023 was Mortified for CHRIS O’Brien on the state’s South Coast.
She ran second in her race debut in June before reeling off four straight victories including a stunning 29.77 effort at Dapto to confirm her status as a bitch on the rise.
Mortified took out the Dapto Regional Final of the September edition of the MDC, ran third in the semi-finals behind Gatlin, then finished third again in the MDC consolation before injury curtailed the latter part of her year.
She’s been back trialling the house down in recent weeks though and her first target for 2023 will be the G1 National Futurity at headquarters in January.
Already a Million Dollar Chase Maiden winner and another graduate from the Zoom Top Maiden Final at Goulburn, Canya Smoke Them has been earmarked as one to watch from the Lord kennel in 2023.
Owned by Mark Duclos, the son of Knocka Norris has already accumulated five races wins and six minors from 16 starts and has been thrown in the deep end in recent months with starts in the G1 Dapto Megastar and G2 Gosford Gold Cup.
His time of 29.67 in the MDC Maiden Final at Wenty Park was immense for a dog still on the young side of two, and we will get another good indication of his class when he goes around in the Gosford Gold Cup Consolation race on Tuesday night against group calibre dogs like ZIPPING Maserati, Gatlin, Yuko Girl and French Martini.
A big National Derby chance and then 2023 could be his oyster.
Raced off Broadway in the State's north for much of 2022 but did it with style, winning nine races from 22 starts in both NSW and QLD.
Came down to Wenty Park for a look in the Magic Maiden heats away back in April but finished sixth and soon returned to racing in Grafton and Albion Park where he ripped off six consecutive wins.
Went within two lengths of Sennachie’s 520m track record when winning in a time of 29.50 at Albion Park back in June, before chasing home Good Odds Cash in the G3 Origin Sprint at the same venue.
Finished 2022 with runner-up finishes in both the G3 Casino Cup and G2 Lismore Cup and looms as another greyhound to keep an eye on this year.
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