It wasn’t too long ago, when he was in the midst of a growing winning streak which included the Group 2 Black Top at LADBROKES GARDENS, that Zipping Kyrgios was the dog in NSW.
Some lustre did rub off with a few disappointing performances, but the real Kyrgios returned at Dapto on Thursday night with a dazzling near-record win in the heats of the Group 1 Sportsbet Dapto Megastar.
Known normally for his canny ability to negotiate through fields, for just the fourth time in his 44 start career, Zipping Kyrgios led from start to finish, and the clock showed how impressive that can be.
He had the race won from the first turn - some say even earlier - so interest quickly turned to the clock following reports of a near record trial at the track last week.
Like Zipping Kyrgios, the timepiece didn’t disappoint … 29.40s, just 0.6s or less than a length outside the track record of Fantastic Dotty set back in August 2015.
“He went super. He went as good as we thought he would go,” trainer John Finn’s wife Minnie said.
“After that last run at Wentworth Park (when he finished 7th) we decided to trial him here and just check it out. We never trial him that much and there was nothing wrong with him. We just can’t work out what that last run was … but he’s back.
“He’s always liked this track, even though people say it’s a tight track for him and he gets wide, but he was educated here as a pup and he was as quick as any pup we have put around here.”
Finishing second and securing a berth in next week’s final was David Smith’s Cowgirl Ethics who ran the race of her 17-race career to hold on to second throughout, albeit eight lengths behind Zipping Kyrgios, with youngster Ties That Bind ¾ length away in third.
The clock may not have been as impressive as Zipping Kyrgios but the run was similarly jaw dropping from Sound Of Silence when he took out his heat.
Squeezed at the start and pushed back into fifth on the first turn, Sound Of Silence looked like he had his work cut out to even scrape into the final.
But up the back he went outside runners, then cut inside a runner on the back turn, then swung back out around the leaders Ritza Donna and Fire Legend, and swooped for a stunning two length win in 29.82s.
“I lost sight of him over there (in the back) I couldn’t even find him in the run, he must have been outside dogs, until they turned into the straight and I saw him hooking three wide ... I knew he came home alright,” said trainer Frank Hurst, chasing his second Megastar having won in 2019 with Good Odds Harada.
Mark Gatt - who is also After his second Megastar having won his in 2011 with Oaks Road - has another shot at the race a decade later AfterRitza Donna managed to grab second place behind Sound Of Silence.
The scratchings Good Odds Cash and Winlock On Top opened up that heat for others like Kayla-Jane COLEMAN to qualify a runner for a Group 1 final.
Tachycardic was able to work across to the rail from box 8 as they rounded the first turn and once in front just didn’t want to be run down, going on to win by two lengths in 29.82s.
“I think this dog has got something,” Kayla-Jane said. “Maybe not as much as everyone else’s dogs, but this dog is special to me.
“He made the Richmond Derby final and then got injured, so this is his comeback trail and he’s nearly three so I think the best is yet to come hopefully.”
Special Blend, a finalist last Saturday in the Flight To The Phoenix at Wentworth Park, produced a fabulous effort, overcoming being knocked sideways on the first turn and giving the leaders still a good break swinging for home, to charge late and grab second just a neck in front of Neangar Boy, securing the spot in another big final.
Back in October Jordan Tweddle celebrated his 42nd birthday when his bitch Light And Lily won the Group 1 Peter Mosman Opal at Wentworth Park, now he’s looking for a Christmas present After she qualified for the Megastar final with a 29.74s heat win over Marvin’s Girl.
“She knows this track back to front, she’s had 20 races here,” Jordan said After the victory.
Many expected that the dog to beat in the Megastar would be promising sprinter Bandit Ned, but the dog was one of three Jodie Lord runners scratched from the series on the morning of the race.
“It’s disappointing for the owners particularly and I really thought I could win the whole thing (with Bandit Ned), but what can you do? I get over these thing pretty quickly and move on,” Andy Lord said.
Bandit Ned could be a contender for the Group 3 Christmas Gift Shootout at Wentworth Park on December 18 with prizemoney of $25,000, but Lord may also consider the $40,000 Group 2 Gosford Cup which has heats on December 28 and the final on January 4.
