Tonight at Sandown Park is the best night of greyhound racing the sport has to offer, the best of the best competing for a spot in next week’s $500,000 TAB Melbourne Cup. The most exciting greyhounds in Australia Xylia Allen, Dyna Nalin and Black Magic Opal are set to set the track alight aiming to cement their spot in the final.
TAB Melbourne Cup heat 1
Recent Group 3 winner Dashing Man lines up in box eight for the first heat of the night, although racing up front during his last win in the John Dillon (595m), he will find it tough to settle up front in this one. On the other end of the scale, Group 1 winner Spud Regis will be looking for the lead first time past the post along Iona Seven and National Time. One runner that could really use his box to advantage is Surf Mail. He’s never electrifying out of the box but towards the end of the race is where Surf Mail comes into his own. If he can find a clear passage through the first bend he will be right in contention to run the front runners down.
Likely leaders – 2, 3, 6
Selections – 3, 1, 5, 2
TAB Melbourne Cup heat 2
One of the three 2012 TAB Melbourne Cup finalists in this year’s heats is speedster Desalle Bale. There is no doubt she will come out humming and be battling for the lead, though is she at the level she was 12 months ago? Evie’s Entity is undefeated from the inside alley and looks hard to beat. Dapto Megastar winner Peter Rocket also has great history from inside draws and wouldn’t surprise many if he was in contention at the finish.
Likely leaders – 4, 5
Selections – 1, 2, 3, 8
TAB Melbourne Cup heat 3
Heat three is one of the strongest heats of the night with every runner capable of cementing their spot in the $500,000 final. There is no doubting Phenomenal’s ability to run fast times, though he is very unpredictable at box rise and can struggle to navigate through a busy field. Expect Prue Bale to come out humming from box 7 and be challenging for the lead, while moderate beginner Clone Your Own will be the one running home stronger than most, along with Irish raider Razldazl Luke.
Likely leaders – 2, 5, 7
Selections – 3, 5, 8, 1
TAB Melbourne Cup heat 4
Heat four features one of the most exciting greyhounds in Australia, Black Magic Opal. If he can balance up out of the box his blistering early dash cannot be matched. The only other greyhound who could challenge Black Magic Opal for the lead is Yoda Bale, who recently broke the first split record around Sandown Park. 2012 TAB Melbourne Cup finalist Hurunui Hitman has lost his touch since last year’s series, suffering from a string of injuries that seem to have put him off his game. Underrated performer Gold Town can never be ruled out; he should be coming home with a wet sail.
Likely Leaders – 4, 6, 8
Selections – 1, 6, 8, 7
TAB Melbourne Cup heat 5
Sky Racing Topgun winner and Macro Meats Shootout finalist Dyna Nalin will be very hard to beat in heat five of the series. Whata Good Size and Cracker Jack Lil are well known for fast early splits and have drawn boxes one and two. This should give Dyna Nalin all the space he needs to settle in a good position before running down the front runners. One greyhound who will also be finishing the race off strongly is Farmor Las Vegas. The RSN Silver Bullet winner has saluted 5 times from 7 attempts from the black rug.
Likely Leaders – 1, 2, 6
Selections – 4, 1, 6, 7
TAB Melbourne Cup heat 6
Arguably the best greyhound in Australia, Xylia Allen returns to HQ after her Macro Meats Shootout victory (drawing box six could be a slight issue for her, but being the champion she is it doesn’t matter what box she exits). The second fastest dog ever around Sandown Park, Banjo Boy, has drawn the extreme alley in box eight which should be a major advantage with the early pace he has. Another high speed beginner is Kiss Me Ketut will exit box three. He does have a habit of drifting to the middle of the track at box rise that could give the strong pair inside of him Veyron Bale and Daintree Emperor a perfect run first time past the post.
Likely leaders – 3, 5, 8
Selections – 8, 2, 6, 3
TAB Melbourne Cup heat 7
Multiple Group race winner Cintiarna will need to improve on her recent form in order to claim heat seven. The Anthony Azzopardi trained Ferly Reign will be out fast looking for the lead alongside Shifty Sticka, who carries good form into the series. Experienced campaigners Sapporo and Imry Bale have 163 starts between them and could never be ruled out. The Troy Iwanyk trained Crump looks very hard to beat from the wide alley. If he can find some space around the first bend he will be certainly be in the hunt towards the finish.
Likely leaders – 2, 3
Selections – 2, 8, 7, 5
TAB Melbourne Cup heat 8
The final heat of the night is one of the toughest, with nearly every runner a chance of advancing to the $500,000 final. One of the favourites to take out the race is the Kel Greenough prepared Paw Licking, who isn’t the strongest runner over the 515 metre trip though consistently shows amazing early pace that gives him every chance of winning. Alongside Paw Licking, Speed Series and Mepunga Fearon will also be challenging for the lead. The widest runner is Innocent Til who will also come out humming, and will get all the space he needs to muster speed.
Likely leaders – 2, 3, 4, 5
Selections – 4, 5, 1, 2
The box draw for both TAB Melbourne Cup and SOLO Bold Trease will be conducted on course 12pm Friday 15 November. Both box draws will be broadcasted live on Sky Racing 1 and simulcast on RSN Racing & Sport.
