The July Carnival rolls on at Grafton this Afternoon with heats of the Village Green Sprinters Cup (407m) taking place at the Northern Rivers track.
Headlining the heats is Magical Yessam, the winner of this year’s Group 2 Ipswich Auction Series and who is aiming for a fourth straight win in the second cup heat (race eight).
Magical Yessam, who defeated a strong 4th grade field to claim his latest win on June 30, has won on his two previous visits to Grafton and is nicely drawn in box one for today’s assignment.
Given his strong recent form, Magical Yessam’s trainer Don Massey believes his greyhound is a good chance of winning again today.
“I think he can win and win well,” Massey, who is based at the Ipswich suburb of Moore’s Pocket, said.
“He won his maiden (at Grafton) so I’m certain he can handle the track and he can win this.
“I’ve been waiting for him to get box one for ages and it’s finally arrived. He’s a different greyhound from the inside and it should really help.
“He’s a fourth grade greyhound at Albion Park and the best greyhounds at Albion Park are a Little too tough for him, but this company should suit him.”
Magical Yessam provided Massey with his finest moment in more than 50 years’ involvement in the sport with his win in the Ipswich Auction Series in April.
The “wonderful” win was a much-needed boost for the 77-year-old, who has spent the last year battling stomach cancer.
“We had a table of 26 people on my table, all celebrating,” Massey said.
“One of my grandchildren carried the (winning) banner After the race and it was a wonderful night.
“After everything I’ve been through, it really was the perfect tonic.”
Spiders Brother (box three, race seven), Little Bit Sweet (box four, race nine) and Goodbye Hug (box seven, race 10) look the others to watch in today’s heats.
Little Bit Sweet has won 13 of her 19 starts so far, including a smart 22.91 victory over the 407m at Grafton last month and a win at Bulli last start.
The top two from each heat progress to next Wednesday’s $7,000-to-the-winner final, one of the feature races in this year’s Grafton Winter Carnival.
Today’s meeting also features four heats of the 5th grade Ladbrokes Distance Boost over the 610m.
Ones to watch in this series include Midnight Moments (box six, race three), Swan Steele (box seven, race four), Nangar Thunder (box eight, race five) and It’s A Movin’ (box eight, race six).
For Grafton Wednesday fields, form and expert picks, click here.
