Orlando And Co. Going Gangbusters

As Zipping Orlando continues his victory lap after a thrilling finish to the second edition of ‘The Ladbrokes 715’, you can’t help but look back at where his racing career all began.

And when you do, you quickly realise the eight finalists from the 2022 Ladbrokes Zoom Top Maiden at Goulburn could already lay claim to running in one of the best maiden finales in recent memory.

The group - consisting of Zipping Orlando, Rockstar Apollo, Len Me Dad, Fast Reason, Zipping Mercedes, Punter's Bandit, We Don't Share and Canya Smoke Them - have so far accumulated $1,136,020 in prizemoney, with a combined race record of 211 starts for 81 wins and 64 placings - good enough for a win rate of 38%.  

Zipping Orlando won the race by three quarters of a length - then rode an eight-win streak to begin his career - and has since gone on to win ‘The 715’ and the Group 1 Association Cup.

His prizemoney has now swollen to $692,475 and that has all come within 10-months of racing, a pleasant surprise for owner Marty Hallinan.

“We didn’t know if he’d get there this quick but I just think he’s a natural race dog. He doesn’t muck around in the kennel and Minnie [Finn] has always said he just Chases. He’s one of those perfect dogs and think he’s got the world at his feet. I thought that was going to be Zipping Kansas to be honest, but I think this bloke is going to be a good little earner, barring injury,” owner Marty Hallinan said.

And it all started in the Zoom Top Maiden series at Goulburn.

“It’s probably one of the best maidens we’ve had in recent years,” said trainer Minnie Finn.

“We knew Orlando was fast and had a lot of ability and he was trialling good as a pup, but when I was getting Gatlin ready for the Southern Stars at Goulburn I took Orlando down to trial too and he went just as good as the older dogs,” Finn added.

The son of Zipping Garth came out and won his heat of the Zoom Top Maiden in a sharp 24.56, before going on to win the $25,000 final a week later.

But it's only when you look at who finished behind him that you understand the sheer depth and quality the race possessed.

Let's start with second and third - Rockstar Apollo and Len Me Dad respectively.

Apollo, trained by Shaun Evans, went on to qualify second fastest for the G1 National Derby final in January, before eventually running fifth in the final behind emerging superstar Victa Damian. He also made the final of the G3 Nowra Puppy Classic, again finishing fifth to Tarawi Rocky. 

In just 22 career outings, Rockstar Apollo has won over $50,000 in prizemoney, collected 10 race wins and has registered a flying personal best of 29.58 at Wentworth Park.

“I didn’t know how good he was when we threw him in the Zoom Top [Maiden]. He had two 400m trials beforehand to build his fitness up and then in his heat he came out and blew them away, that’s when I thought we might have a handy one here. If you’ve got a decent one, my advice is to start pencilling in the race at Goulburn,’ Evans said.

“Apollo has just kept improving since that series. He made the Derby and Puppy Classic finals and had no luck in those races, but he’s won 10 out of 22 now and he’s still learning a lot. He should be coming into his prime in the next six months or so and hopefully he can win us a Million Dollar Chase,” he added.

Len Me Dad has fared even better from the exact same number of race starts as Rockstar Apollo.

The litter brother to G1 National Futurity winner Wyndra All Class has already claimed a Group win in 2023, taking out the Maitland Gold Cup for Ruth and Danielle Matic.

Len Me Dad also made the final of the G2 Bulli Gold Cup but was forced to withdraw due to injury. 

His career earnings have surpassed $90,000, with his record of 22 starts for 12 wins and seven minors including a flying personal best of 29.47 at Wentworth Park.

“It’s unbelievable how many good dogs have come out of the Zoom Top Maiden. When we got Lenny back from the breakers around the end of March, I remember in the car on the way home Dani [daughter Danielle] and I were thinking about that race at Goulburn. That was our mission from the start,” Ruth Matic said.

“Lenny has done really well, and we do follow the others from that race. I was barracking for Orlando in ‘The 715’ because he’s one of that group and Kayla [Jane Coleman] and Shaun [Evans] broke Lenny in and we’re friends with her so we watch Apollo too. It’s funny because Lenny actually led that Zoom Top final and looking back now, it’s no surprise Orlando got hold of him late,” she said. 

A quick scan further down the finishing order of the Zoom Top Maiden final shows Punter’s Bandit finished sixth.

The Andy and JODIE Lord-prepared Chaser already winning the most prizemoney of her fellow finalists (outside Orlando) with $157,105 in career earnings.

The daughter of Good Odds Harada claimed two feature races at Gosford within a month of one another early in 2023, finishing best in both the G2 Gosford Gold Cup and the newly formed Ladbrokes Summer Six-Hundy.

In the last six months, she ran in the finals of both the Dapto Middle Distance Championship and G1 Dapto Megastar, while also taking part in the G1 Rookie Rebel at The Meadows. She too ran in the final of the Ladbrokes 715, finishing seventh behind Zipping Orlando.

The dog that finished at the back of the field in the Zoom Top Maiden, Canya Smoke Them, came out less than two months later to win the September edition of the Million Dollar Chase Maiden. Injury looks to have cut his career short, but only after winning nine races and more than $67,000 in prizemoney.

The remainder of the Zoom Top Maiden final field include Fast Reason, Zipping Mercedes and We Got Square.

Fast Reason is a new addition to the Peter Lagogiane kennel and has won nine races and more than $30,000. Zipping Mercedes, the litter sister to Orlando, ran fifth in the 2023 G1 National Futurity final, while We Got Square has so far been the smallest earner, but still has four race wins and five minors from her 12 career starts.

And with the next edition of the race fast approaching, Goulburn Greyhound Racing Club Track Manager, Pat Day, is encouraging participants to put the race in their calendars.

“$25,000 for a maiden sits well with participants. I think it’s getting to the stage where people know it’s on, it’s got a consistent spot on the calendar and it aligns with the Southern Stars race that we introduced last year as well. I think all of those factors will encourage people to get their good dogs ready for this race,” Day said.

“It always attracts a great class of greyhound and it was always a race the club wanted to put on due to the fact Zoom Top actually won her maiden at Goulburn. Knowing the fact one of the best greyhounds ever to race won a maiden at Goulburn, I think we’re entitled to that race and we’re really pleased to have that on our feature program,” Day said.

The 2023 Zoom Top Maiden series heats will be run on Friday, July 28, with the final to be held a week later on August 4.