Group 1 winning trainer Tom Rees believes the 2024 Ladbrokes Dapto Megastar final field is “the best they’ve assembled in years”.
The Grose Wold-based mentor making the bold statement after qualifying star littermates History’s Coming and Hurricane Reign through Thursday night’s preliminaries in style.
“It’s a ripping race on paper and I’m feeling great this morning knowing a plan we’ve had in place for a while for these two has paid off,” Rees said.
“It just makes getting up early every morning easier when they run like that. We set them for the Megastar and after the year they’ve had so far, this is a great feeling.”
“We’ve had them both going over the shorts in the last month to sharpen them up and we went down to Dapto knowing we had to jump, run and lead and we almost got home in two heats. And neither of them had raced over 500 since July so hopefully there’s upside to come.”
History’s Coming, a Group 1 National Derby winner in January, clocking 29.97 in his heat win over NSW National Sprint winner Might Have Been, while Hurricane Reign (the reigning Nowra Puppy Classic champion) finished less than a length behind Good Odds Cobber in 29.82.
Both fairing well at the box draw according to Rees.
“The box draw really opens it up to every dog. History will stay glued to the rail from Box 2 and Hurricane runs a pretty straight line to the first turn,” Rees added.
“There’s a bit of speed drawn outside her but I’m comfortable she can lead to the first bend or sit outside Harmony Fire and then find the front. If they jam up on that bend, my two could run perfect cover for one another.”
“I know Minnie [Finn] said she doesn’t want the inside but Gets Late Early could just jump, run and push everything out of the way. She went in with a lot of work under her belt so with a freshen up, she could be the hardest to beat.”
Power And Glory is a joint favourite for the $75,000 feature after clocking an impressive PB of 29.49 in his heat for Kenny Burnett.
The son of Hooked On Scotch x Kwong Magic well placed to claim a breakthrough big race victory.
“He’s doing everything right for a dog that’s only had 14 race starts. There were a few knockers out there this week saying he’s slow out of the boxes and he wouldn’t suit Dapto but I think he showed he can handle it,” Burnett said.
“Remember, he hasn’t had a run at Dapto since his maiden win in February. That’s not normally what I do, I usually take them for a look at the track before racing…but he was educated at Dapto so it was like going home for him.”
The Bringelly-based Burnett reserving the highest praise for the emerging sprinter who claimed win number nine on Thursday night.
“He’s the best dog I’ve ever had and he’s quickly turning from a young dog into an experienced animal. As he’s gone up in grade, most greyhounds run true to form, they’re a bit more predictable and that gives them all a chance…that’s when he’s best placed,” Burnett added.
“I’ve had fast dogs before but he’s so tenacious and he’s got a real will to win that I’ve never had before. He just knows where the line is and his father, Hooked On Scotch, was a very similar sort of racer.”
“As for the final, Good Odds Cobber has the runs on the board and History’s Coming in Box 2 for Tommy Rees looks hard to beat as well. I just hope he gets a fair crack at them.”
The Ladbrokes Dapto Megastar final worth $75,000 to the winner, will be run on Thursday, September 12.
The first three across the line will also qualify for the semi-finals of the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase.
