Kong will tackle a prelude of the Melbourne Cup after he clocked fastest time at Wentworth Park for the third week in succession when he again ran his rivals ragged in a free-for-all on Saturday night.
After setting the night's time standard with 29.90 performances at Wentworth Park on September 16 and 23, Kong stopped the clock at a blistering 29.87 on Saturday, winning by over six lengths.
“Kong will have a break from Wentworth Park now because he is off to Melbourne to contest a Melbourne Cup Prelude at Sandown,” trainer Cheryl Murray said later.
“He has had a couple of trials at Sandown and will contest a Prelude in the lead-up to the Cup heats at that track on November 17.”
Final of the Melbourne Cup, the world's richest greyhound race, will be run at Sandown on November 24.
Kingsbrae Cheeko ran another fine trial for the October 21 heats of the Group 1 Ladbrokes Vic Peters Classic when he led throughout on Saturday in 30.03, which was second fastest time of the night.
Slightly slower than Kingsbrae Cheeko on Saturday was the John Callaughan-trained Elantris, who resumed from a spell of nearly eight weeks to lead throughout in a 5th grade event, stopping the clock at 30.19.
“Elantrtis injured a hamstring when unplaced in a 720m race in early August and I have not trialled him since,” Callaughan said.
“All he had to prepare him for tonight's race was regular swimming.”
Elantris obviously relished going into the event fresh as he jumped in front and after leading by a length entering the back straight, displayed his natural strength to career away and score by 10 lengths.
Sharp Diamond, meanwhile, opened his Wentworth Park account by taking out Saturday night's 720m event for leading Thirlmere trainer Mark Gatt.
Sharp Diamond had been runner-up in each of three previous Wentworth Park 720m races but despite his win on Saturday is not a certain starter in this Saturday night's heats of the Group 3 Sydney Cup.
“I will recommend to the owner that the dog goes back to Melbourne,” Gatt said after the race.
“Sharp Diamond is not a dyed-in-the-wool stayer, he is really a good 660 to 680 metre greyhound. And with the current soft tracks in vogue Sharp Diamond does not get a strong 720 metres.
“So he will probably struggle against Sydney Cup class dogs but I will leave that decision up to his owner.”
Sydney's toughest greyhound Dawn Mini scored her 11th Wentworth Park win when she took out a 3/4th grade race on Saturday.
Dawn Mini began brilliantly and led clearly before being headed by Smoking Road on the back straight. But after trailing that greyhound to the home turn the Keith Pedrana-trained Dawn Mini stormed home to win running away, clocking a tidy 30.36.
“I have no doubt Dawn Mini would make a stayer,” Pedrana said after the race.
“She goes like a rocket early but has a flat spot in the middle stages of her 520m races at Wenty, and that's a sure sign of a stayer.
“But I want to breed from her so don't want to subject her to a long-distance campaign and will continue running her in 520m events. I never trial Dawn Mini around the circle between race starts, but she does have two or three 200 metre hit-outs up the straight every week.”
See you next week!
