It was just on 12 months ago when veteran racecaller John McDermott climbed down from the caller’s box at Gosford having seen something he had never seen before. Now, the man whose dog the racecaller was marvelling at, hopes he can give MACCA an even more memorable Gosford night.
That night last year was when the Peter Lagogiane-trained Beast Unleashed flew around the Central Coast circuit in a track record 28.90s in the heats of the Gosford Gold Cup. A week later Beast Unleashed would win the Group 2 final.
“I remember he came down off the stand and said: “I’ll never see that again, the sections this dog ran, that was electrifying. I have been coming here for 30 years and I have never seen that and I’ll never see that again,”” Lagogiane said on Monday, recalling the conversation with McDermott.
Next Sunday night at the same track, Lagogiane will be chasing back-to-back Gold Cups, having qualified two runners, Double Back, who won the Regional Final of the TAB Million Dollar Chase at Gosford back in September, and a young dog called Hooray Zipper, who clocked 29.22s in an emphatic heat win.
The son of Moreira and Miss Direction is owned by McDermott’s wife Susan, and has won five of his six starts since joining Lagogiane’s kennel.
“It would be such an honour to hold the trophy on the dais having won the Gosford Cup for the McDermotts,” Lagogiane said. “He’s a legend in our sport, and I will always remember that call of The Beast winning last year’s Cup.
“He’s highly impressive this dog, isn’t he? Two runs ago at Gosford (when he clocked 29.29s), when he got to the 600m boxes he just drops the dog who was with him as if it’s standing still, it’s like a turbo kicks in and he puts four or five on them.
“He’s a little bit of a special pup this one. He’s a little bit highly strung, and he’s had some back problems, but he just wants to Chase. He’ll Chase a leaf in the backyard.
“He’s a wonderful dog. If he can remain injury free, I think he’s going to go places this little dog. The Gosford Cup is his aim on the weekend and we’ll go from there.”
Double Back is a handy ‘other’ runner for Lagogiane. He finished second in his heat behind Typhoon To Excel who clocked 29.63s while Kid Candle was the other heat winner in 29.49s.
“I think that this is his third or fourth group race (final) now … surely he’s bound to win one,” Lagogiane said.
“He’s been a good dog, and he’s beaten some good dogs and he can put the time on the board too when he wants to. He definitely has a chance.”
The box draw sees Hooray Zipper drawn inside the speedy beginner and likely leader Fire On Ice, and Lagogiane admits his concern is with seven likely to head across the field at the start.
The full draw for the $40,000 to the winner Gosford Gold Cup is: 1. Buck’s Future 2. Double Back 3. Typhoon To Excel 4. Zipping Vernon 5. Kid Candle 6. Hooray Zipper 7. Fire On Ice 8. Connie’s Boy 9. Nangar Jack 10. Dual Keroma.
