It’s hard to fault the 2023 season of Palawa King after the son of Feral Franky claimed three Group 1 wins in Victoria and Queensland in the second half of the year. Throw in appearances in a further seven Group finals (for a G3 win and four minor placings), as well as a third-place finish in ‘The 715’ and you’ve got a heck of a year. The scariest part for his rivals though is he is still yet to turn three, which means we should see continued dominance throughout at least the early part of 2024. The Jack Smith-trained runner had a rare miss in the heats of the Golden Sands in Brisbane last week but has already amassed an incredible 22 wins from 55 starts and over $650,000 in career earnings for connections. Would love to see him target new middle-distance events ‘The Richmond’ and ‘The Clarence’ on his way to the Country Classic in March, but Jack and the team may want to stick to 700m racing.
Another staying star in the middle of a purple patch of form and big Joe Scerri will be looking to continue that in 2024. Ritza Piper won the 2023 Summer Distance Plate at Wenty Park and it kickstarted what has been a whirlwind 12 months for the daughter of Ritza Lenny. She travelled all around the country searching for feature glory in the first half of the year, but had to wait until the latter part of the season to claim her most memorable race wins. She was the runner-up to Zipping Vanessa in the G2 Sydney Cup, before going to Melbourne and winning the G1 Topgun Stayers. She then finished second to Palawa King in the G1 Bold Trease before returning to NSW and dominating the final of the Newcastle Cup. She’s only small in stature but she has had a massive 12-months and we can’t see her slowing down anytime soon.
A few questioned whether he could stay early in 2023 and he quickly proved the doubters wrong with dual victories in the G1 Association Cup and then ‘The 715’ at The Gardens. The Finn camp set him for the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase series over 520m in September and October, and after winning his way through the City Qualifiers, he bowed out in the semi-finals to eventual winner Jay Is Jay. Had a quieter back end of 2023 and only contested the one feature race in Melbourne (a heat of the Hume Cup) before putting the cue in the rack for six weeks. Orlando returned over the 515m journey in a heat of the Gosford Gold Cup where he completely bombed the start but hit the line really well in the back half of the field. Turns three around the same time as Palawa King so he also looks primed for a stellar start to 2024 and is versatile enough to potentially target the rich Country Classic as well.
The fourth staying greyhound in succession on this list which says a bit about the strength of our top line endurance animals heading into 2024 (and we could have included Nangar Rocket). Zipping Vanessa is the youngest of the four stars already mentioned by about four months so she may have the most room for improvement in the New Year and will be looking to add to her NSW National Distance Championship win in August and dominant Group 2 Sydney Cup win in October. Contested two G1 races at The Meadows in the back half of the year but didn’t have a lot of luck at the box draw or in running and will be looking to renew her key rivalries with Palawa King, Ritza Piper and Zipping Orlando in 2024.
Wyndra All Class | Daniel Gatt | Fernando Bale x Winxette One of, if not the story of 2023, was the performance of Wyndra All Class in the early part of the season. An emotional Group 1 win in the National Futurity in January was followed up by victory in the time-honoured Ambrosoli, before she ran second to the great She’s A Pearl by less than a length in the final of the G3 Brother FOX in May and then finished third in the G3 State Of Origin. Sadly, injury and coming on season curtailed the back half of her year and scuppered big plans for the camp, but they are hopeful/confident of a successful return to racing in the near future. Always a question mark over how aging bitches return from extended breaks, but the Gatt kennel are as good as any in the State at preparing their charges and it’d be great to see the big Brian Barton smile at Wenty Park again in 2024.
The Group 1 Peter Mosman Opal (PMO) winner might just be our best female sprinter on the scene at the moment after the retirements of She’s A Pearl and Good Odds Cash in 2023, coupled with Wyndra All Class’ extended period on the sidelines. She backed up her breakthrough Group win in the PMO with another in the G2 Black Top at The Gardens in September, and will line up in one of the first feature finals of 2024 when she contests the Group 1 Golden Sands decider (over 600m) at Albion Park on January 4. That heat win was just her second start over the middle-distance trip so there will be improvement to come and she may emerge as the best middle-distance dog in NSW in 2024. We know the Barnes crew aren’t afraid to travel, so races like ‘The Richmond’ and ‘The Clarence’ will almost certainly feature her and kennelmate Nangar Rocket in 2024 as they head towards the showpiece of the Central West, the Country Classic.
Probably the spruik dog of 2023 and I think One Hot Bandit lived up to expectations. A Group 3 Magic Maiden winner in 29.65 in just start number two, he rattled off 14 wins for the calendar year and ran fourth in the final of the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase behind Jay Is Jay, fourth in a Goulburn Cup to Quantifiable and fourth again to Father Rick in the Dapto Middle Distance Championship decider. His effort to run down Magistrate in the semis of the MDC was visually stunning and the way he finishes off his races over the sprint trip probably tells us his best efforts could lie over the middle-distance journey in 2024. Two runs of 34.17 at Dapto indicate he could be primed for a Country Classic assault and his mother, Nino De Oro, did win races over 600m.
One Hot Bandit is owned by the Punters HQ syndicate
Another Hallinan product that burst onto the scene in 2023 and his debut 29.92 win at Wenty Park in March put the writing on the wall for a big year. Went on to run third in the G3 Magic Maiden behind One Hot Bandit just a few weeks later, before he lowered his Wenty Park PB to 29.55 in just his third career start. A five-win streak in June and July included the G1 Vic Peters Classic and visually, that win was one of the most impressive of the year. A scintillating 29.33 effort helped him win by more than eight lengths and confirmed he was not just a rising star, but a bonafide stud of NSW chasing. Remus dislocated a toe attempting to qualify for the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase semi-finals in September and spent some time away from the track, but returned late in 2023 to run the fastest heat time in the G2 Queensland Derby. Marty Hallinan said he was the type of dog that could win a MDC, let’s see what 2024 holds for this dynamic son of Feral Franky.
Rocket Riot | Peter Lagogiane | Barcia Bale x Princess Riot
One man who knows a thing or two about training a MDC winner in Peter Lagogiane and Rocket Riot may be his best chance of winning an unprecedented third title in 2024. The son of Barcia Bale is still pretty lightly raced with just 22 career starts but already he’s cracked the $100,000 mark in earnings and the arrow is still firmly pointing up on his career. He’s another dog on this list that will contest the Beast Unleashed Gosford Gold Cup on Tuesday after running down Mortified in the heats on the Central Coast last week, with that effort fresh off a fairly successful hit and run mission in Melbourne where he finished second in the Group 1 Silver Chief final behind Mepunga Shine (third-placed Morton franked the form by winning a heat of the QLD Derby in his next start). He also claimed the Young Star final during the MDC carnival and his mother, Princess Riot, was a handy bitch in her own right but she does hail from the same litter as Melbourne Cup winner Whiskey Riot and Australian Cup champion Fernando’s Riot.
This spot could have easily been reserved for reigning Thunderbolt champion, Vamoose (who is eyeing a return to racing in the New Year after injury), but I feel like this bitch could be the heir to his throne and one to watch on the road towards the 2024 Thunderbolt series. The daughter of Collision is already a 14-time winner from just 26 starts and ran third in two of the better short course features in the State in 2023 in the Richmond Cannonball (behind Speeding FINE and Vamoose) and the Goulburn Fireball (behind Packham Silk and Best Ever). She’s seven-months younger than Vamoose, she’s won races from 280m to 401m, and she’s claimed victories at several tracks including Gosford, Wenty Park, Goulburn and Richmond. In a good kennel and blessed with speed to burn, Armatree Cash could be the short track star of the New Year.
