He has the always-dangerous Ritza Hattie in contention but trainer Mark Gatt believes Zipping WILLOW and Are Jip are the standouts for this Friday's Group 2 Woy Woy Poultry Supplies Gosford Cup Final (515m).
Gatt’s charge (pictured, yellow rug) has drawn box eight for the $40,000-to-the-winner final after finishing second behind Zipping WILLOW in last Friday night’s heats.
Jason Mackay’s gun sprinter would likely have started as the top pick for this Friday’s mouthwatering final before drawing the coveted box one, from which she has won from on all of her previous nine starts.
She was the second fastest qualifier behind Are Jip, who has box five for the final, and Gatt believes the pair will be hard to stop.
“The box one dog is the favourite,” he said. “You cannot look past her.
“The five dog has got some pace and showed tonight she’s got some class, but Zipping WILLOW has got the box she would have wanted."
Kristy Sultana’s Are Jip produced a terrific run home to win his heat in 29.36.
Check out Are Jip’s run here.
Another Sultana-trained sprinter, Jewel Action, took out the first heat in 29.70 and could be a dark horse for the final.
She finished ahead of the 2014 runner-up Magic Display, who looks to have drawn unfavourably in box six for the final.
Farmer’s Gold, who won the third heat for Queenslander Darren Russell as a $34 shot, drew box three for the final.
Another of Jason Mackay’s chasers, Zipping Angel, has box four for the final.
One chaser who could provide an upset is this year’s Futurity winner Rue De Kahn, who drew box two for the final after finishing runner-up in a decent 29.58.
The chaser usually produces a strong display from close to the rail and has been running solidly if not spectacularly in recent weeks.
Ritza Hattie cannot be ruled out of contention but Gatt was blunt in his assessment of the box draw.
“Terrible,” he said with a grimace.
“The greyhound in the seven (Jewel Action) should have plenty of pace which will help, but she really needed to be on the inside in this field.
“She will try her best as she always does but she will struggle to beat these greyhounds from there.
"I’m just being honest – this will be tough for her.”
The hotly anticipated final is the latest leg of the Thank Dog It’s Friday series, which showcases the best regional NSW racing in a primetime Friday night slot.
For more information on the Thank Dog It’s Friday series, click here.
Gosford Cup Final Box Draw: 1. Zipping WILLOW; 2. Rue De Kahn; 3 Farmer's Gold; 4. Zipping Angel; 5. Are Jip; 6. Magic Display; 7 Jewel Action; 8. Ritza Hattie. Reserves: Queen Esther, Anything Less.
