Ricciardo Even Surprises Kristy To Become A Megastar

Kristy Sultana arrived at Dapto on Thursday night honestly having very little - if any - expectations of her dog winning the Group 1 Sportsbet Megastar Final. 

It was the same assessment she had after last week’s heats, and in fact the same way she thought when the field headed up the Dapto back straight. 

But she obviously forgot to mention it to Flying Ricciardo, because the brilliant young sprinter and his trainer are now both Group 1 winners.

The dog, purchased for just $7,500 at the Gold Muzzle Auction last year, has now strung together a phenomenal record of 19 wins and three placings from 23 starts, and the Megastar prizemoney of $75,000 has boosted his earnings to $224,590.

And all this just three days after he turned two years of age.

Kristy admitted that after a week with niggling injuries, and a puzzling performance in the heat where he was .60s slower than fastest qualifier Simon Told Helen, and seven lengths slower than he had run in a solo trial a week earlier, she was drained of any confidence.

And had she had any hope remaining, even she would have conceded she was racing for second when Simon Told Helen led around the first turn.

“It’s unbelievable,” the new Group 1 winning trainer said. “Coming to the meeting tonight, to be honest I wasn’t expecting him to run a place. He had a few niggling injuries during the week so we were babying him. We didn’t think he was 100 per cent to be honest.

“Nothing major, just a few little things with his pad and just little things, but we get paranoid when things aren’t 100 precent right.

“I was gobsmacked (after the heat performance). To come out and run that time in the trial (29.47s) and then to run that time (29,96s) in the heat … we just couldn’t work out why. We didn’t know if the dog was just having a bad day or there was something wrong with him.

“But we trialled him three or four days ago, so we knew he was ok, but we are just shocked. We didn’t expect that at all.

“When that dog (Simon Told Helen) led, I was just like how far is he going to win by? But he (Flying Ricciardo) just kept pushing him and just pushing him and overtook him like he was second class dog. I didn’t expect that at all.

“It’s been an amazing ride. He only turned two the other day. Like I said I don’t know how to explain it he’s definitely the best dog we have ever had. I can’t wait see what he does in the future.”

Flying Ricciardo stopped the clock at 29.48s, just a click outside the time he ran in that solo trial.

Simon Told Helen - so close to the track record a week ago in the heats – collected another group 1 runner-up placing, his second in a fortnight, and was gallant, beaten by a better dog on the night by 2¼ lengths.

Third place went to the Mark Gatt-trained Ritza Coen, last early, and still sixth on the turn out of the back straight, ran home strongly to grab third place, a further two lengths back. 

Kristy says she the Victorians will now get a taste of Flying Ricciardo, with plans to head to Melbourne to trial in preparation for the upcoming Silver Chief series.