The Topgun Next on The Feral’s Agenda
It was one of the most hyped match-ups in greyhound racing for some time, and to many it was the night when Feral Franky announced himself as not only the people’s champion, but also one of the nation’s top dogs.
The Feral was taking on the dog considered by many as the country’s best, the Jason Thompson-trained Hooked On Scotch, a winner of the Speed Star, the Group 1 Adelaide Cup, and the Geelong Cup, in the past few months.
But jumping well from box three, Feral Franky was able to rail hard at the first turn, race to the lead up the back, and charge away to win by almost eight lengths in 29.08s. Hooked On Scotch found trouble and couldn’t gain a clear run until swinging for home, and ran on well for second.
Next on the calendar for Feral Franky will be Next Saturday night’s Group 1 Topgun at The Meadows.
The box draw for the $150,000 to the winner event was held on Sunday, and Feral Franky came up with box 5.
Also in the field are all three placegetters from the TAB Million Dollar Chase grand final, with Good Odds Harada drawing box 6, Shima Shine box 7, and Get It Gizmo in box 2.
The full draw is: 1 Black Opium 2 Get It Gizmo 3 Sennachie 4 Barooga Brett 5 Feral Franky 6 Good Odds Harada 7 Shima Shine 8 Whiskey Riot 9 Slingshot Hammer 10 Curt Lee.
Watch Feral Franky win the FFA at Sandown here
Topgun Stayers
It’s not only the sprinters who will be chasing Group 1 Glory on Saturday at The Meadows, with the Topgun Stayers event to also be held.
The favourite for the $75,000 to the winner event will be Tornado Tears who drew well in box 2, while NSW will be represented by Blue Moon Rising, an unlucky second in the Sydney Cup behind Boom Down on MDC Grand Final night.
The full draw for the Topgun Stayers is: 1 She Will Bloom 2 Tornado Tears 3 Blue Shadows 4 Bago Bye Bye 5 Rajasthan 6 Boom Down 7 Blue Moon Rising 8 Radar Gun 9 Just Terms 10 Annie Lava.
Watch Boom Down defeat Blue Moon Rising in the Sydney Cup Final here
Nowra Gold Cup
The Luke Azzopardi-trained Mrs Emgrand is the warm favourite for Monday night’s $10,000 to the winner Ladbrokes Nowra Gold Cup over the 722m.
Mrs Emgrand has been racing in fine form, finishing second to Blue Moon Rising in the Sydney Cup heats, then third to Boom Down in the final, before last start breaking the 42s barrier for the 722m at Wentworth Park.
Mrs Emgrand will be having her first look at Nowra on Monday night, but Azzopardi isn’t concerned, pointing out that his stayer had never raced at The Gardens earlier this year, but came out and won in near record time.
Azzopardi will be looking at taking Mrs Emgrand to meet the country’s elite stayers in the Bold Trease at Sandown during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Watch Mrs Emgrand win at Wentworth Park last start here
Pindari Express Melbourne Cup Bound
TAB Million Dollar Chase grand finalist Pindari Express will make his much-anticipated race debut at Sandown on Tuesday night, as trainer Tracey Scruse embarks on the upcoming Melbourne feature events.
Pindari Express, a fine fifth behind Good Odds Harada in the MDC decider, has not raced at the venue but has trialled there twice, once last year, and once last week, when he clocked 29.45s.
Pindari Express has drawn box 1 in race 9 on Tuesday and will meet just four rivals in the event. Scruse said she is hoping to gain a start in the Group 3 Shootout on November 14, before heading into the Melbourne Cup heats on November 22.
Watch Pindari Express win his semi-final of the TAB Million Dollar Chase here
Group 1 Racing at The Meadows
The now traditional Melbourne Cup Eve meeting at The Meadows on Monday night is certain to attract a big crowd looking to build their banks for Cup Day.
The feature on the night is the Group 1 Hume Cup which will be run over the 600m, with the Jeff Britton-trained True Detective the favourite, having drawn the one and being the fastest heat winner from last week in 34.20s.
NSW will be represented by Jason Magri’s Zipping Potter, who won his heat in 34.56s last week, and in is fine form having won five of his past six starts.
Watch Zipping Potter win his Hume Cup heat here
Age Hasn’t Wearied or Slowed Dual Keroma
Dual Keroma, who lost four months of his racing career due to a severe virus, completed a remarkable comeback with a fastest time of the night performance at Wentworth Park on Saturday.
Trained by Susan Pitstock, Dual Keroma notched his 11th Wentworth Park win when he led throughout in the Free-For-All, covering the 520m in a blistering 29.64s, a time .01s better than the dog's best time in 26 previous Wenty outings.
"Dual Keroma is four-and-a-half years old but is actually going better than at any stage of his life,'' Pitstock said.
"I had been concerned about his weight because prior to contracting the virus he was racing at 32.1 to 32.4kg but last week, when he was an unlucky second at Wentworth Park, and tonight, he weighed in at 33.8 and 33.7.
"But my veterinary surgeon, who I have a lot of faith in, assured me there was nothing amiss that was causing Dual Keroma to put on weight, and that the dog was simply thriving.''
Watch Dual Keroma win last Saturday at Wentworth Park here
GAP Adoption Day
Greyhounds As Pets will host another Adoption Day this Saturday at Petbarn Campbelltown.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the greyhound as a pet, or wanting to find a fabulous new friend, should head down between 10am and 2pm.
For those interested in adopting or fostering, or for those looking for more information, head to the GAP NSW website, www.gapnsw.com.au for all the details.
