The latest Megastar just keeps improving

By Jeff Collerson

Zipping Tayla's win in Thursday night's group 1 Beteasy Dapto Megastar was simply the result of her gaining more experience on the South Coast track.

That's the opinion of trainer Jason MACKAY who said: "When she finished a close second to Lagoon Rhett in her Megastar heat, Zipping Tayla improved six lengths on her first race at Dapto on September 6 when she ran third to Saint Gallon.

"Zipping Tayla had never seen Dapto before that first race start and I expected her to 'find' a bit more from the heat to the final.

"Having said that, she had to draw inside to be a chance, I would have given her no hope in the final from any further out that boxes one, two or three.''

Zipping Tayla's win gave MACKAY his first victory in the seven year history of the Megastar, with her time of 30.00 well outside the race record of 29.51 set by Fantastic Spiral in 2015.

While Lagoon Rhett ran down Zipping Tayla in the Megastar heats, he led easily in the final but succumbed in the straight, winding up a close third to MACKAY's greyhound and fastest qualifier Benkennie Chic.

Spare a thought for the connections of Saint Gallon, who pulled up lame after toppling Zipping Tayla at Dapto on September 6 and was forced to miss the Megastar heats.

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Fast Car Driving (pictured) was slowest of the Richmond Million Dollar Chase heat winners but trainer Jody Gordon gives her greyhound a good chance of taking out Friday night's regional final.

Fast Car Driving won his heat in 30.93 while the Andrew Crouch-trained pair Jamella Jet and Big Butters won in 30.47 and 30.75 respectively.

"Although Fast Car Driving is a railer he shows more dash off box eight and that is where he has drawn in the final,'' Gordon said.

"There is not a great deal of early pace in Friday's race and I believe Fast Car Driving can lead at the first turn.

"If he does, he will be hard to run down because he is pretty strong at the end of 535m.''

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VICTORIA's Vince Tullio, who has crack youngster Awesome Catch in Friday's Richmond Million Dollar Chase, has been training greyhounds for only 12 months.

"I have been involved in the industry for 10 years but have concentrated on the breeding side of the sport, and Awesome Catch, which I bred myself, is among the first dogs I have trained,'' Tullio said.

"He was strange to the track when he led and was run down by Big Butters in his heat and I expect him to go a lot better in the final.

"I left home at 4am to get to Richmond for the heats on Wednesday and got back at 4am Thursday so it was a long haul for both me and the dog.

"That's why I have left Awesome Catch in NSW for the final, because as the heats and final are nine days apart the dog needs to have another gallop so I figured the less travelling he had to do the better.''

Awesome Catch, who has won six of 14 starts, at just 22 months of age, is among the youngest campaigners in the GRNSW + Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase.

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OUTSIDER Bula Fab Girl scored a tenacious win in Thursday's Les Darcy Cup final, fittingly held at Maitland, the former home town of the legendary boxer.

Darcy, whose nickname was "the Maitland wonder'' won 52 of 56 fights but died, aged just 21, in 1917.

Bula Fab Girl jumped in front from box six but was hampered while trying to cross to the rails and was relegated to third spot at the half way mark.

But once she found the fence the JODIE Lagogiane-trained greyhound surged to the lead on the home turn before holding on to win narrowly.