Author: Editor BOAY

Victoria will enter a 7-day lockdown from 8pm tonight, however greyhound racing will continue across the state in its current status including: – Essential persons only allowed on course at ALL Victorian greyhound race meetings and trial sessions– Health screening / pre-entry temperature testing will continue– QR code sign in remains mandatory– Social distancing of 1.5 metres– The wearing of face masks is mandatory at all times – inside and outside The Premier of Victoria’s statement in respect to the change in COVID restrictions can be located HERE GRV extends…

A National Championship is one of the very few G1 features to have eluded Jason Thompson over the course of his stellar training career and the ongoing impact of COVID will ensure that anomaly won’t change in 2021. The National Sprint and Distance Championships were set to be hosted at The Meadows later this month but for the second year running Greyhound Clubs Australia, in conjunction with the Melbourne Greyhound Racing Association and GRV, has cancelled the National Grand Finals. But the Victorian Sprint series will proceed at The Meadows…

Saturday night’s $35,500 Group 3 Warragul St Leger final (460m) shapes as a ‘must watch’ sequel to the recent G1 Maturity Classic, with superstar duo Qwara Bale and Aston Fastnet reprising their starring roles. Add boom speedster Koblenz (Box 2) into the mix and the race for the $25,000 winner’s purse shapes as one of the most memorable in the age-restricted feature’s history. Andrea Dailly’s Qwara Bale (Box 7) celebrated her second G1 victory in the Maturity, having previously won the Sapphire Crown as well as the G2 Warrnambool Cup.…

Angela Langton rates Keep It Black ahead of litter brother Keep It Blue as her best chance in Saturday night’s Group 3 Warragul St Leger final (460m) but concedes both have their work cut out in the star-studded field. At $21 and $31 respectively, Keep It Black (Box 4) and Keep It Blue (Box 1) are among the outsiders in TAB’s market on the $25,000 to-the-winner St Leger, which is dominated by $2.30 favourite Koblenz and dual G1 winner Qwara Bale and fastest heat winner Aston Fastnet, both at $4.60.…

After celebrating a dream track record-breaking G1 Melbourne Cup victory with Hard Style Rico last November, Luckie Karabitsakos admits it was always going to be a ‘hard’ act to follow for his second litter out of Bella Rico. Hard Style Rico, which retired to stud after winning the 2021 Melbourne Cup in a sensational 28.91sec, was a fairy tale home-bred success story for Pearcedale owner/trainer Karabitsakos. Winner of 21 from 40, also claiming the G2 Shepparton Cup, Hard Style Rico is a son of US sire Bella Infrared and Bella…

Thursday night’s Sandown Park card will begin with a bang when sensational debut winner Zac’s Entity makes his second appearance in a Maiden final. All eyes will be on Zac’s Entity – and perhaps the clock – after he ran a scorching 29.25sec last Sunday, scoring by 15 lengths, the second fastest performance by a maiden at Sandown, only eclipsed by G1 winner Burn One Down. Drawn in box one, Zac’s Entity, trained by master trainer Kel Greenough, will get every opportunity to make it two from two. Recent G1…

Nilma North trainer Ashlee Terry, 30, is hoping for a ‘high-performance’ display from Hennessey in the Group 3 Warragul St Leger final (460m) on Saturday. And she realises he’ll need to be at his ‘supercharged’ best to claim the $25,000 winner’s cheque. Hennessey – named after a Texas-based company that modifies late-model high-performance sports cars – tasted his first defeat in six starts at Logan Park when third in a St Leger heat last week. He finished 3.4L astern of ‘next big thing’ Koblenz (25.65sec) who notched his 17th win…

‘Sparkling’ staying star Mepunga Ruby (9 from 14 – 7 of past 8) v ‘nomadic’ Gypsy Wyong (8 from 13 – 5 of past 7) will be a ‘gem’ of a contest in an Enduro Series Prelude (660m) at Ballarat tonight. But that’s not the only intriguing face-off on the program as rising stars – Revolution (2 from 3) v Paua Of Mindy (2 from 7) – go head-to-head in a Mixed 6/7 final. Meanwhile, at The Meadows this afternoon, G2 McKenna Memorial finalist Mepunga Warrior takes on G1 National…

Utah Ghost completed a ‘frightening’ Healesville hat-trick in the Victorian Straight Track Championship final (350m) on Sunday afternoon, stamping himself as a major player in next month’s G2 Healesville Cup series. Not even the presence of G2 Ballarat and Shepparton Cups hero Ferdinand Boy could prevent Utah Ghost, trained by 31-year-old Tim Britton, from completing a scorching clean-sweep of the Straight Track series. Britton conceded it was more out of necessity – due to wrist issues – than inspiration that he decided to venture to Healesville with Utah Ghost, a…

A provincial flying ‘fab four’ takes flight in a FFA (410m) at Horsham this afternoon. Kraken Tex (20 from 105) v Fortuna Bale (28 from 65) v Benchester (25 from 68) v Oriental Amber (21 from 45) pits a country champ quartet in a must-see tussle! G2 Ballarat Cup finalist Oriental Amber (5 from 10 Trk/Dst) is Horsham’s 410m TR holder (22.64sec), while Fortuna Bale (4 of past 8) is a dual Ballarat Cup finalist – 2020 (3rd) and 2021 (2nd). Benchester (4 from 5 Trk/Dst – 3 of past…