It's being billed as 'Super Saturday' down in Victoria as some of the best greyhounds in the nation descend upon Healesville and The Meadows in their pursuit of three national titles.
The Group 3 GCA National Straight Track Championship final will be held over 350m at Healesville at 11:17am, before the eye of the greyhound world turns it's attention to The Meadows for a pair of Group 1 events.
The running of the GCA National Distance Championship decider over 730m will take place at 8:16pm, with the GCA National Sprint Championship final over 525m set to go off at 8:55pm.
Here's some final thoughts from connections of the NSW contingent - Shall Not, Oscar Moses, Palawa King, ZIPPING Vanessa and Modern Swinger - ahead of Saturday.
Group 3 National Straight Track Championship | Healesville 350m | Saturday, August 26
Shall Not | Box 2 | Trainer: Darren Sultana
On comparisons between last year’s winner Mr. America and Shall Not…
“They have different racing traits. Mr America was just a mad railer and crasher. This dog prefers to be a little bit off the fence but at least he won’t crash from the outside or try and back out so I think Shall Not is a better race dog.”
On the runner-up finish to Oscar Moses in the NSW National Straight Track Final…
“He just copped a couple of checks which in hindsight probably cost him the race, but that’s part of racing. He had all those starts and had clear passages but he got beaten the other day on his merits basically. A bit of bad luck went his way but one consolation was he ran second so he’s qualified for the final.”
The way the box draw is, yes, Box 2 is fine. It’s probably better being there than sort of in the guts or on the outside. Apparently the five [CASH On Delivery] is a wide runner, I was told, so Shall Not has got to use the box, it’s up to him.”
“That day [a race start on July 16] was just a bit of bad luck. He drew the one box and the two and three just came out and ran the hardest left you’ve ever seen and that put him out of whack. You can’t afford to make mistakes in straight racing, it’s one of the races you’ve got to have a clean run. He’s had a couple of looks there, I trialled him a couple of weeks before that race…there’ll be no excuses.”
On the prospect of winning a National Straight Track title…
“It’d be fantastic if we can win it. I was surprised with the number of nominations in both the NSW and Victorian state finals but there’s no lack of quality in this race. He flew to Victoria last Thursday and Ned McDonald has been looking after him. H trialled after the last on Sunday and he was just under two tenths slower than what they went in the Victorian final so hopefully he’s got that improvement up his sleeve.”
On who Oscar Moses will find hardest to beat in the final…
“Obviously the two Victorian dogs are going to be hard to beat in their own backyard. Unleash Collinda owns the track record over both distances at Healesville so it deserves to be favourite. Maybe Yesterday is the only dog to beat it up the straight recently so it must be a chance. I’d have preferred to be drawn closer to the rail because he [Oscar Moses] will jump and be hunting for the inside and I thought we needed to be underneath Shall Not to beat him too but we’re outside him.”
On Oscar Moses and his development over the last 12-months…
“He’s a very big dog, about 37.5 kg and he’s had some issues but Jason [Magri] has done a great job with him. Those issues are the reason why his racing has been up the straight or on one turn tracks. I’ve always been involved in race horses but in the last few years I’ve got into the dogs and I love the animal and racing in general is an adrenaline rush. Kevin Moses the jockey owns him with me as well, hence the name.”
“If he’s competitive, there’s a perfect follow-up race with the heats of the Healesville Cup on the following Sunday. It’s a Group 2 race worth $55,000 I think and you’ll probably see lot of these dogs going around in that series too. If he can prove he’s up to it, he will stay down there and go around in that series next.”
Group 1 National Distance Championship | The Meadows 730m | Saturday, August 26
“He was making a run down the back but she [ZIPPING Vanessa] had a big break and he just copped a check. He recovered fairly well but she went really well anyway so I don’t know if he would have caught her. He would have finished closer, but we were happy with the run.”
“We went down there [The Meadows] for a couple of 600’s. I wanted to get down there and do some 600m racing with him and give him a look as there’s some other races coming up down there later. I don't know if having a look is that important for him as we are always travelling our dogs no matter where they race so they are used to spending time in the car."
“Palawa King is a little bit different to the other two. He comes out bad and wants to go forward. The other two come out good and want to go back so I don’t want to be dragged back with them. We’re riding for a bit of luck on the first turn.”
On potentially winning the National Distance Championship…
“These are the races you want to win, especially for owners John and Wendy [Hughes], this is the best dog they’ve ever had and he’s taken them on a great ride so far. So whether it’s this race or another group race, he’s won some group races, they’re just over the moon with the way he’s going. You just want them in these races and to enjoy the ride, they don’t come along very often.”
“It was surprising because she has been missing it, but when she got on the bunny, she’s got a big motor. She is a frontrunner stayer so fingers crossed. There’s just no speed in the race so if she can get on the lure, and something does happen to the back mark runners, she might just pinch it. I texted Minnie last night and we had a bit of a textathon and we both think she’s a strong chance to be honest.”
On ZIPPING Vanessa’s 600m trial at The Meadows ahead of Saturday’s final…
“I think Minnie and John have got to keep her a bit fresh. Have a feel of the track but keep her fresh because we need her in front, we don’t need to be missing the kick. I think she’s had a really good preparation, I think she’s a good traveller, can’t use anything like that as an excuse. I just feel, we’re at The Meadows and funny things happen, if the back markers get held up for one little stride and get to that home corner at the wrong time, they do jam. I just think it’s a front running race to be won.”
“Darryl Prestwidge and another friend bought Shoshe [Vanessa’s mother] to race. She was a pretty handy bitch, she ran around 30 dead at Wenty one night with enormous speed and then she hurt a stopper bone at Lithgow and we tried to get her right for him but it never happened. They didn’t want to breed…I said to Daryl I wouldn’t mind getting a litter or two…and she’s produced alright to be honest.”
On the Box 7 draw…
“Perfectly boxed in my eyes. We all know if Zoha Bale gets the clean run and takes off, he could probably definitely run her down, but if he just gets held up for a fleeting couple of strides and she’s on the lure…she can’t run anything down, she needs to be on the lure…and if so, you’re a chance of pinching a race like this.”
“He was really well boxed but it’s still hard to believe he won the race considering there was a lot of good dogs and trainers in the race. He won it in 29.80 which is a good time without being a fantastic time. It was the second best of the night though, the best time being 29.77. I don’t think he’s ever won up there on a really quick track yet so I’ve found it hard to work out how good he could be.”
On making the National Sprint Championship final and the Box 5 draw…
“It hasn’t hit me yet to be the honest but as I drive down there it’ll be a different story. The build up to the box draw is the hard bit to be honest. Someone told me I had Box 3 over the weekend but the draw hadn’t been done so it was a bit of a let down finding out he drew Box 5.”
“He did win that race at Dapto from the five but She’s A Pearl was in eight which certainly helped him and he’ll certainly run into a different calibre of field down in Melbourne. To represent your state and go up against the rest of Australian is no mean feat. If I was to win it, you’d know about it.”
On the rise of the litter out of Banjo Tifia over the last 12 months…
If you told me Banjo Tifia was going to produce Modern Swinger, Mortified and Quantifiable, I’d be very surprised. Although I knew she’d be a good brood bitch because she had a good temperament, she was put together well, and without winning a group race, she had the credentials on the dam side to be a really good brood bitch. She was a good size and she ticked all the boxes.”
“Modern Swinger has just been consistent. I’d say he could run 29.6 in town on a fast track but he’s probably a couple of lengths off Mortified who has broken 29.40. Modern Swinger just puts himself in the race at the right time though, he gets out in front and does his thing. Breaks them up down the back and he knows where the line is. Quantifiable is a lot stronger than she used to be as well so the litter is going great.”
“He trialled last Wednesday and it was his first look at the place. He went 30.25 and 5.17 to the first mark. He made up a fair it of time between the first and second sections and the fastest race that day went 30.05 so I was pretty happy with the run.”
On the hardest greyhound to beat in the National Sprint Championship final …
“Postman Pat is unbelievable. He’s an outstanding dog, he comes out most of the time, he’s got brilliant speed and he can find the rail pretty quick and when he’s on the rail, he’s amazing. From Box 3 he should be able to find the rail a bit easier and if he does, he’ll be hard to beat. He’s got champion qualities that dog.”
