Author: Editor BOAY

Hume Hard for Christo

Editor BOAY

Mark Delbridge isn’t as confident as TAB in Christo Bale’s chances to take out his second Group race over the middle distance on Monday night at The Meadows. Drawn box eight in the Group 1 Hume Cup, the opening leg of the Metro Festival of Racing, TAB have opened Christo Bale as the $3.50 second elect behind Last Hurrah. “I think he has no hope of winning this one,” trainer Mark Delbridge said. “There is a lot of pace on the inside of the track and I think that he…

Fields Announced for Group 1 TAB Topgun Events

Editor BOAY

The Melbourne Greyhound Racing Association (MGRA) are delighted to announce the fields for the Group 1 TAB Topgun & Topgun Stayers events set to be held at The Meadows on Saturday night 7 November. The Topgun Selection Panel (Eddie Caruana (Non-Voting Chair), Ashley Baker, James Van De Maat, Jason Lincoln, Luke Gatehouse, Peter O’Neill & Ron Hawkswell) met on Sunday via Zoom to discuss this year’s Topgun aspirants and after considerable discussion have settled on the following fields for the prestigious Group 1 events. Group 1 @tabcomau Topgun Field Saturday…

Benchester sets new benchmark with breathtaking run

Editor BOAY

Underrated sprinter Benchester put his name up in lights with a track record run over 385 metres at Shepparton last night. Benchester, pictured above with trainer Mark Morrissey, got out like a rocket and clocked a time of 21.42sec, lowering Italian Plastic’s track record by .02sec. “When he went straight to the lead out of the boxes I was pretty excited to see what time he would run,” Morrissey recalled. “He holds the split record (10.00sec) at Horsham over the 410m distance, and he has run quick time at a…

Rolling Stone’s ‘Shepparton swagger’

Editor BOAY

It took a few strides to ‘start him up’ but once Rolling Stone got into full ‘swagger’, he gave punters ‘satisfaction’ in a G3 Northern Districts Cup heat (450m) at Shepparton tonight. Rolling Stone ($1.40F), pictured above with trainer Karen Pitt, was last out from Box 1 but displayed amazing acceleration to thread his way through the field and lead entering the first turn. From that point, the result was never in doubt as he strolled to a 2.4L win over Kalter ($11.40), with rank outsider All In Deeds ($59.30)…

Adele’s Smart Northern Districts Cup call

Editor BOAY

Former NSW trainer Adele Powell will be chasing her biggest success since relocating to Victoria when promising sprinter Smart As Jack tackles the heats of the Group 3 Northern Districts Cup (450m) at Shepparton on Monday night. Powell was involved with Group-winning stayers Just Friends and Outrageous Angel when based in NSW and she rates Smart As Jack, which boasts 11 wins from his 19 starts, as good as anything she’s trained since venturing south four years ago. “He’s a great little dog,” said Powell, who trains a small team…

13-card race meetings just around the corner

Editor BOAY

GRV’s General Manager of Racing, Greg Kerr, provides an update on some of the current topics from around the racetrack. Q. What can you tell us about a 13th race being introduced to some Victorian race meetings? Greg Kerr: Running an extra race at some venues is now getting very close to delivery. Over the past few months, we have been working with Race Clubs and Wagering Service Providers to ensure a smooth delivery. We have six venues that could put on an extra race, nominations permitting, those venues being…

Hume Cup heats: Sleek Zeek steps up as Last Hurrah makes it six straight

Editor BOAY

Aspiring young trainer Ned McDonald – just two days shy of his 20th birthday – savoured his biggest moment in the sport when Zipping Zeek produced a sleek win in a G1 Hume Cup heat (600m) at The Meadows tonight. Transferred from NSW for the series, Zipping Zeek – who was a G1 Vic Peters Classic finalist and G2 Richmond Derby runner-up – made a sensational middle-distance debut. Zipping Zeek ($4.30) defeated Malayah Bale ($18.40) by 1.4L, with Here’s Tears ($3.10F) a further 2.8L way third in 34.10sec (Best). It…

Gazza’s ‘last hurrah’

Editor BOAY

Sadly, after 357 games, it will be the ‘last hurrah’ for Geelong’s “little master” Gary Ablett… What a champion! The dual Brownlow medallist (2009 & 2013) is eyeing his third premiership medal in tonight’s history-making AFL Grand Final. Ablett won a flag with the Cats in 2007 and 2009. And TAB wasn’t going to miss Gazza’s momentous – and emotional – occasion! It’s cross-sports offer is an enticing $5.50 for Ablett to kick 1+ goal against the Tigers in the ‘big dance’ and the aptly named Last Hurrah – based…