Fire To Rain will chase the second Group win of his career when he lines up in the Group 2 Thirty Talks @Stud Queensland Derby (race seven, 520m) at Albion Park on Thursday night.
The CHRIS Riordon-trained greyhound ended a run of outs with a win in a Derby heat last week and will jump from box eight in the final.
Despite setting his fastest time at Albion Park last week with a 30.16 run, Fire To Rain, who won the Group 3 Vince Curry Memorial at Ipswich this year, is an outside chance with bookmakers and currently at $23 with Sportsbet.
Riordon, a former harness racing trainer and driver, believes his greyhound is a good value chance.
“Box eight may help him," Riordon said. "There’s so much early pace here and there may be four or five that jam up at the first corner – he may get underneath them.
“With this much speed in the race, I think it’s a lottery who will win. There’s plenty of quality and I’m not very confident, but Fire To Rain has done well so far and he’ll do his best again.”
Riordon has two runners in the Quensland Derby, with Roll So Deep jumping from box five after finishing second in his heat.
“Roll So Deep has ability but is unpredictable – I’m still working out how to train him. I’d have liked to have seen how he’d fare from box one in this company, but as it is Fire To Rain is probably a better chance.”
Riordon, based at Bribie Island, said he had enjoyed switching codes to greyhounds.
“I still love horses but harness racing was becoming a grind, especially as I got older,” he said.
“I was sick of handling all my racing gear and coming home at all hours. With greyhounds it’s a lot easier – you just grab a muzzle and away you go.
“I’ve learned you have to be patient. It can be tough – you can’t put a greyhound in the paddock for six or 12 months like a horse – but you just have to be patient.
“I love working with greyhounds. I’d recommend it to anyone.”
Favourite for the Queensland Derby is the Tony Brett-trained Fast Times (box two), who is $1.80 with Sportsbet, after a brilliant 29.75 win in his heat.
Victorian challenger Annabelle's Boy (box three) is a $6.50 chance with Sportsbet after an impressive victory on his first look at the track last week.
Cosmic Bonus (box eight, $4.80) is a Wentworth Park winner and was the second fastest qualifier with a smart 29.85 run, while Alpha Georgiou (box four, $4.50) ran a strong 29.88 last week.
Rather Dapper (box one, $26) and Captain Til (box six, $15) complete the field.
For Albion Park Thursday fields, form and expert picks, click here.
