Chasing fans in the State’s south are in for a real treat this Friday as some of the country’s best Chasers descend upon Goulburn and Wagga for the remaining Heats of the $50,000 to-the-winner GRNSW Southern Stars Series.
The series, run across three Southern NSW racetracks at Temora, Wagga and Goulburn, is the latest GRNSW feature race to head to the regions and will see arguably the country’s fastest greyhound make her long awaited return to the track.
She’s A Pearl - the 2022 TAB Million Dollar Chase winner and G1 Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg champion - hasn’t been seen on a race card since coming on season in May, with trainer Andy Lord looking forward to stepping her out at his home track of Goulburn for the first time later this week.
“She’s ready to roll, she’s had a few trials [at Goulburn] and she’s gone as good as she ever has before. I still think she’s got a lot left in her mate, she’s not three-years-old until October and she’s going as good now as she was earlier in the year,” Lord said.
Already a winner of over $1.3 million in prizemoney, a victory in the Southern Stars Final on July 29 at Goulburn would see her become the greatest stakes’ winner in the history of the sport.
She’s A Pearl has drawn box 4 in Heat 2 at Goulburn and will start alongside Victorian G1 place-getter Ferdinand Boy and recent G1 Ladbrokes Vic Peters Classic winner Gatlin.
And although she is currently riding a 12-race win streak that extends back to February, Lord was quick to hose down expectations for his sprinting star, admitting she didn’t owe the kennel a thing.
“We haven’t tried to improve her much in the last few months and we honestly wouldn’t care if that was it for her because she’s done so well. She gets treated like any other dog in the shed, we know the highs only last a little while and no matter what happens you’ve still got to get up and do your dogs the next day,” Lord said.
Lord also plans to step out Group One winner Bandit Ned in the third of the GoulburnHeats where he'll come up against STOCKMAN and Paddock Country Classic winner Zipping Kyrgios and Group 2 place getter Casual Glance.
The master trainer rewarded with an ideal box 8 draw he believes will allow punters to see the best of his 21-time winner.
“Bandit Ned hasn’t raced at Goulburn a lot but he loves the place and it’s his home track. He can run the record there anytime he goes around. When he draws inside he just wants to pull back and get around them, that’s his style of racing but when he draws wide he’s as good as any dog in the country,” Lord said.
“He’s always had a bit of a different style of racing, ever since he started he’s liked to go around them instead of underneath. He keeps drawing box 1 and he has won a few from down there but he’s better suited out wide. You can see when he’s near the rail that for a fleeting moment, he’ll want to push and see if he can get up and outside them, but if the pressure gets too much he says “stuff this” and drops back to go around,” Lord said.
One man looking to spoil the Lord’s strong hand at Goulburn will be Victorian ace David Geall.
The multiple Group 1 winning trainer drawing the same Heat as She's A Pearl with kennel star Ferdinand Boy and taking no chances in the lead-up, travelling eight-hours north last Friday to give his charge a look at the circuit.
“We wanted him to have a run on the track but unfortunately he got quite a bit of interference and the race was done. He missed the start too but he finished off well and at least he’s been around now,” Geall said.
The dual Melbourne Cup winning-trainer (Koblenz in 2021 and My Redeemer in 2018) believes Ferdinand Boy is “probably one of the best one bend dogs in Australia” and only needs to jump in his Heat to be competitive.
“He’s a horseshoe bend dog and over the last couple of years he’s had a lot of success at the one bend races. We thought Goulburn might suit him and I’ve had a bit of luck up there over the years [Emerald Rainbow won the Goulburn Cup in 2019]. It’s a great place to visit, the staff, trainers and breeders are all just good people and I enjoy racing up there,” Geall said.
“He’s won four Group Two country cups, he’s won the Sale Sprint championship, the Sale Horizon last year, a Warnambool Derby, a Shepparton classic, he’s won so many feature races and I’ve just been so fortunate to have a dog of his calibre in his kennel.
“He just gives 100% every time he goes out, he hasn’t browned off over the years, he just loves to race. He’s been placed in a Group One Hobart Thousand, he’s won four Group Two cups and he’s been one of those once in a lifetime dogs that everyone hopes to have,” Geall said.
Geall admitting he hoped to dodge “one of the best bitches in Australia”, with only the winner of each Heat progressing to the July 29 Final.
“We've drawn She’s A Pearl so he’s [Ferdinand Boy] going to be have to be at his absolute best to compete with her because she is bulletproof. There’s no dog that can lead her so we’ll be up against it. We know there are some quick ones up there, that’s why we only bring fast dogs up otherwise we are no chance,” Geall said.
Lord was to heap praise on Ferdinand Boy but also sent a word of warning Geall’s way.
“He’s [Ferdinand Boy] a very good dog, one of the best country cup dogs around and he goes everywhere and wins too. He came to Temora for the cup earlier this year and She’s A Pearl ended up winning that but I would turn up everywhere with that dog if he was mine,” Lord said.
“Goulburn can be a tricky track and I honestly believe one run at Goulburn is not enough. I reckon it’s got three corners and it’s a place you really want to have a couple of looks. I’ve seen the best dogs come there and fail, you’ve got to have a bit of experience but if anyone can do it, that dog can.”
Heat 1 at Goulburn is also packed full of quality and will see Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg runner up Goods Odds Cash take on quality Chasers Yuko Girl for Sam Sultana and Coast Model for team Lord.
Wagga will also hold two Heats of the Southern Stars Series on Friday with another Victorian, Jason Sharp, eyeing off a ticket to the $50,000 Final next week.
Sharp is preparing Aston Profit and Orson Mick for the series, with both dogs finding form over their last few starts.
“Aston Profit has won her last two and she’s been running over 450m down here. She just pings and gets to the front and she’ll need to do that in the Heats. Orson Mick has won three of his last four and in his only miss he blew the start at Warnambool so he’s ready to go. He’s got a big motor but can be a bit slow early but both of them are definitely running and there might be a couple of others, we’ll see what happens,” Sharp said.
“We were looking at going to Goulburn but DAVE [Geall] and I catch up for tea every Wednesday and he said they were heading up there so we thought we might go to Wagga instead. I like to keep my cards close to my chest but there’s no secret you want to try and avoid the dogs like She’s A Pearl or Ferdinand Boy if you can.
“If we go to Goulburn we have to leave the night before and stay the night, my son also said it was -6 degrees at Goulburn the other day so they’re not the best conditions for the dogs. Plus Wagga is only five hours for us compared to eight to Goulburn.
“The way the money is now, people are going to travel around the countryside because the money is too good to sit at home and miss out on this stuff. During winter Victoria isn’t renowned for having a lot of big races and that’s why people are going to NSW, it’s just fantastic.”
