The current quinella in the Dapto Greyhound of the Year race will lock horns once again on Thursday as Rosebery Hustler (Box 3) and Ninja Mac (Box 1) reunite their intriguing rivalry.
Seven days ago, ‘The Hustler’ got the job done in a slick time of 16.98, knocking off Ninja Mac by 1.75 lengths. He has now won 11 times in 14 starts over the Dapto 297m.
One of those losses came to Ninja Mac way back on February 16, while the others were to speed demon Quantifiable (16.73) and Thybulle Bale (16.95).
Rosebery Hustler is the more consistent animal right now, breaking 17 seconds in five of his last seven starts. In the same span, Ninja Mac has only gone sub-17 on one occasion, but that run was a striking 16.84 two weeks ago.
The Simon Rhodes-trained Oboyo Bale and Thybulle Bale can also both produce sparkling times on their night but the pair hasn’t been at their best in recent outings.
“He just loves Dapto. I like the fact they start into a straight down there, it seems to help him get out and find some room to move. We’ve tried him over the 340m at Bulli but he just can’t see it out strong so he goes 297m most weeks at Dapto and he just always seems to run well. He’s on the lead all week and we don’t over race him, we try to keep him fresh and it seems to be working. He’s just a chaser who loves to race and he gets an ice cream every time he wins now so I think he’s worked that out,“ Croser said.
Nice, restricted 1-3 win race for My Mate James to return in after a month off the scene.
Was last seen finishing down the track at Wentworth Park behind Carbon Copy on June 14 but has since trialled at Dapto in a nice time of 29.97.
Has winning form over the middle-distance trip at Dapto with a 34.61 effort back in May jumping off the page, and with the aid of Box 1 on the bend start, should be really hard to beat. Only dog in this field to have broken 35 seconds for the trip and with clear air, looks really well placed by Mark Bell.
Widdicombe Bale (Box 1) has flashed potential since arriving in NSW back in May but despite landing six cheques in 10 starts for Simon Rhodes, he has only claimed the one race win. He’s yet to crack the 30 second mark for the trip but seems to go well off Box 1.
Mowksi Bella (Box 2) is a strong bitch who has 12 race wins for Denice Warren and has seen the track twice before. She clocked a decent PB of 30.07 back in a good non-graded race in November but hasn’t won since December 10. She spent a few months off the track through Autumn and may finally be returning to her best.
Irinka Digby is our pick and comes off a nice 30.08 effort at Wentworth Park behind One Hot Bandit on Saturday night and has gone 29.84 at headquarters. Has a 29.85 run at Gosford on her recent resume as well and the Brewer kennel has won seven of their last 27 starts with 11 placings as well.
Peter Massa has mixed distances with Candy Corvette (Box 4) in recent times with runs over 350m, 472m, 520m, 590m and 600m in the last two months. Hasn’t jumped all that well in last couple so would need to address that issue to win this race. Has run a drum on five occasions in 10 starts at Dapto but is yet to win.
Rockstar Rampe (Box 5) is a litter brother to Rockstar Apollo and probably isn’t favoured by the squeeze box. Has had a few looks at Dapto over both 520m (with a best of 30.18) and 600m and should be strong at the back part of the race.
Silver Messenger (Box 6) is another who hasn’t won in a while (January 11) but does have form behind handy types Hooked On Fame, One Hot Bandit, Misled, Slingshot Rusty and Rebel Garth. Raced at Dapto last week, finishing sixth behind Sweet Redemption in a time of 30.56.
Bobby Dynamite is leaving the Pine Bowl for the first time in 44 career starts and looks like the outsider of the field in Box 7.
While Another Bella has flown around Dapto before in 29.77 – although that came over a year ago. She has OK stats at both Dapto (8: 2-2-1) and from the pink box (15: 3-2-1) but would probably need to lead to win. Form behind Fat Boy’s Charm, Aston Barak and Mia She’s Fast is different gravy to the rest of the field.
Race 2 | Isla Ville (Box 1) – she’s got plenty of early pace but would need some tr4ouble behind her to get away with it. she should lead but not overly strong. The draw should help. Trialled 17.47 on Monday morning.
Oscar Ville (Box 3) – he’s the quickest of my four. Had his first look at Dapto on Monday in the trial and might go 17.3 at best. He just needs a bit of room to move in the first half a dozen strides.
Ray Ville (Box 6) – not an ideal distance but coming from an injury. Trials well at Goulburn but doesn’t seen to go too good at Dapto. He’s gone 30.30 at Dapto over 520m. Much better suited over 500m.
Poppy Ville (Box 7) – she’d need a lot of luck from the boxes.
Race 9 | Crash Edition (Box 6) – he needs to lead around the first turn otherwise might find it hard. He might find a bit too much trouble off the box.
Race 11 | Moose Ville (Box 4) – he’s coming back from an injured toe but he’s looking good. Would probably run a 17.2 with a clean run.
Best Chance | Isla Ville would be the best hope just because of the box but it could be a tough night.
