Aston Duke might not be the fastest greyhound Jason MACKAY has trained but his Maitland Gold Cup win last Thursday put the seal on the dog's tenacity.
Aston Duke, who exited box two, outpaced Cavatron (box one) and railed underneath Aston Dinnigan (three) in the charge to the first bend and took over at that point.
He held on gamely to hold off track record holder Hone In, who had won his heat in 24.63, stopping the clock at 24.88 for the 450m.
MACKAY "read'' the race perfectly, predicting his greyhound would get a clear run to from the boxes to the crucial first turn.
Aston Duke's Cup figures, while wide of the record, were the quickest of the past seven years.
Oaks Road won in 25.16 in 2012 and the mighty Black Magic Opal clocked 24.92 in 2013.
Subsequent winners have been the great Paw Licking (25.05 in 2014), Spacecraft (25.08, 2015), Marbo's Magic (25.02, 2016) and Aussie Infrared, who ran down Pantera Nera to win in 25.02 last year.
"Aston Duke is not the quickest dog I have trained but he has a lot going for him,'' MACKAY said.
"He is a good beginner, has a fine turn of early speed, and most importantly, is a tenacious chaser.''
Aston Duke is owned by businessman Ray Borda, who ranks alongside Paul Wheeler and Marty Hallinan among Australia's most successful owners and breeders.
Borda, who races the 2017 Melbourne Cup winner Aston Dee Bee, who has earned $791,000 in stakes, phoned MACKAY within minutes of the Maitland final offering his congratulations.
Aston Dee Bee is an older half brother to Aston Duke.
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Falcon's Fury, who was unplaced in Aussie Infrared's 2017 Maitland Cup final, failed to qualify for the big race this year but staged an outstanding performance to win last Thursday's Cup Consolation.
The Paul Braddon-trained dog bungled the jump from his favourite draw, box eight, but swept around his rivals to hit the front at the half way mark.
He raced away to win in 24.80, while his promising kennelmate Chevey's Magic helped make Braddon's trek from his Cowra kennels to the Hunter Valley totally worthwhile.
Chevey's Magic, a son of Dyna Double One and Braddon's former handy sprinter Carla, won over 400m in a fast 22.31.
Chevey's Magic has won won 10 of 23 races but continues to improve and has been successful in eight of his most recent 13 appearances.
And Braddon has tasted Maitland Cup success, owning, training and breeding the 2016 winner Marbo's Magic.
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Shaun's Entity could be tested over 720m at Wentworth Park following his sizzling 31.65 win over 565m at Maitland last Thursday.
The former South Australian, now trained in the Hunter Valley by Mark Davidson for the Punters HQ Syndicate, won easily in 31.65.
That time was just .45sec outside Lochinvar Hugo's track record.
"Shaun's Entity has won over 600m at Angle Park and over 643m at Gawler but the best he did in staying races was finishing third over 731m at Angle Park in September,'' Davidson said.
"But when he ran third he weighed 33.4kg and I had him down to 31.8kg when he won last Thursday so I'm tempted to give him another crack at a long distance race.
"It took him Shaun's Entity a while to put it all together when I got him from SA but when he won at Maitland over 565m in late March he ran home faster than my good dog Time Lord so I expected him to go quick last week.''
