While she may not have taken home a cheque the size of the one won by Mystic Riot, the emotion Evelyn Harris showed a year ago on Million Dollar Chase Grand Final night, was the equal at the very least of the $1 million winners.
Harris won a supporting event on the program, the Masters Meteor, an event still worth $100,000, and one specifically for older greyhounds. Her dog, Cosmic Bonus took out the event, and actually ran the fastest time of the night … even quicker than Mystic Riot.
“It was a wonderful night,” Harris said. “He’s just a one in a million dog. Someone asked me afterwards what I was going to do with the money, but I said for us, it’s not about the money, it’s about the dogs.
“It would be good to win it again.”
Cosmic Bonus is back again in 2019, just two months shy of his fifth birthday, but going better than ever, and has twice this year broken the Casino 411m track record.
And he is racing as well as ever right now. In his past 19 starts he has won nine and been placed in the other 10. Overall his record stands at a stunning 116 for 55 wins and 35 placings and over $366,000 in prizemoney.
“For a dog of his age to be able to run times like he does, it’s amazing. And his run the other night at Wenty Park was a really, really good run. He hasn’t had a 500m run (second) for about six months, so it was a big ask for him but we wanted him to have a bit of a refresher on the track
“We were very happy with the run, and the dog who beat him (Zipping Potter) has now won his last three at Wenty Park.”
The heats of the Masters Meteor will be run on Wednesday night at Wentworth Park, with the first two in each heat advancing to the $100,000 to the winner final.
“I’m just so glad that they have got four heats,” Harris said. “It’s good to think people look after their old dogs.
”I will see how Cosmic Bonus goes through the Masters Meteor series and then maybe we might go to the Lismore Cup, then that will probably be it for him, he’ll be off to stud.”
A great initiative to extend the racing careers of dogs, between the 29 dogs in the Masters Meteor series, they have raced an amazing 2035 times, and recorded 459 wins.
Cosmic Bonus is drawn in heat two of the Masters Meteor. He has drawn alongside Jason Mackay’s Zipping Clive, considered one of the big chances to win the series, while the ever-consistent Rita’s Boy for Mark Gatt has drawn perfectly in box one.
Other notables in the series are Drink Schooners in heat one, heat three is very strong with Zipping Potter, Dual Keroma, Little Digger, and last year’s runner-up and third placegetter behind Cosmic Bonus, Blabba Mouth and Springcreek Bill.
While the fourth heat will feature two greyhounds who were Million Dollar Chase semi-finalists 12 months ago, Bogan Doonie and Fast Car Driving.
The other feature which will have its heats run on Wednesday with the $25,000 to the winner final on Million Dollar Chase Grand Final night, is the Young Star Classic, and it too has drawn some handy greyhounds.
Jason Mackay’s smart youngster Aston Sapporo will clash with the in-form Really Unreal, the speedy Kamikaze Cowlick, and the Darryl Thomas-trained One Strange Dude a winner of four from five and a slick 29.45s win at The Gardens last start, in the opening heat.
In the second heat Knight’s Page – who has been contesting the Million Dollar Chase at the Regionals, and won a heat of the event at The Gardens as well as winning The MACCA, the Black Top Consolation, will be hard to beat.
In the third heat the one to beat will be Zipping Truvy, already a 29.76s winner at Wentworth Park, last start she was third, just a length behind Feral Franky, in 29.63s at Wenty.
Also in the heat are Dapto maiden winner El Rapido for Jodie Lord, My Mate Clarrie who has won nine of 11 starts, and the handy Blue Summer Sky who has drawn the red.
In the final heat, there are a number of chances including Jet Jackson, Poacher, Miss Blue Ivy, Zipping Veyron, and Irinka Sadie.
