The Sandown Greyhound Racing Club has continued its push to make its premier race, the $600,000 Melbourne Cup, a global event by granting the Group 1 New Zealand Waterloo Cup exemption status.
The Waterloo Cup was first contested as a coursing event in 1878 and has grown to become New Zealand’s equivalent to Australia’s National Sprint Championship. Heats are conducted at four venues across the country with the final to be run at Auckland’s Manukau Stadium on Sunday 20 September. Greyhound Racing NZ has indicated that they will be contributing to a travel subsidy for the invited dog.
“This is indeed an exciting prospect, as we have seen other New Zealand greyhounds such as Thrilling Brat, Above All and Clone Your Own (pictured right, after winning the Group 1 Harrison-Dawson) being very competitive at the elite level in Victoria,” said John Roberts, President of the Auckland Greyhound Racing Club.
”The Auckland GRC are indebted to Sandown Park for this most forward thinking promotion, and are looking to form a strong relationship for future opportunities.”
The Waterloo Cup is the third international event to be added to the Melbourne Cup exemption list following the Irish and English Derbies.
“The Melbourne Cup is one of the world’s great greyhound races, and we want to see the best greyhounds in the world compete in it,” said Mick Floyd, Sandown’s Racing and Media Manager.
“We’ve already seen a New Zealand bred winner of the Melbourne Cup (Kwik Metal, 1974) and Above All (pictured, above) reached last year’s final. The Waterloo Cup is a highly sought after event in itself that attracts the best chasers across New Zealand, so it was the obvious choice to add it to the Exemption list.”
Greyhounds that win an exemption race automatically qualify for the Melbourne Cup heats. The remainder of the Cup heats are made up of the best greyhounds that compete in the four Melbourne Cup Preludes series ahead of the Melbourne Cup heats on Friday 13 November. The Melbourne Cup final will be run on Friday 20 November.
Click here for the complete Melbourne Cup Conditions of Entry.
Click here for Greyhound Racing New Zealand’s corresponding announcement.
* Paw note: The 2013 Harrison-Dawson final was memorable not just for Clone You’re Own’s victory, but for the field finishing in racebook order, the chances of which happening are approximately 40,320/1!
