Team Sharp was pulsating with excitement last night when Kouta Mayhem claimed a Prelude of the TAB Melbourne Cup.
“I can barely breathe at the moment!” said a very excited Jason Sharp.
Kouta Mayhem showed his customary early dash from box 1 to lead his rivals first time past the post. He maintained his advantage to defeat Zipping Chang and Zipping Inglis in 29.53.
“I was a bit worried about the two dogs behind him but he’s improved on his run home. It’s fantastic, it’s just a big pressure relief.”
Their Lara home would’ve been rocking when Kouta Mayhem crossed the line with the whole Sharp family cheering him on.
“They’ll be ecstatic. I’ve got a heap of messages coming through already.”
By winning a Prelude Kouta Mayhem guarantees himself a run in next Friday’s heats of the world’s richest greyhound race.
“I know it doesn’t mean you’re in the final but atleast he has the opportunity to step up to the plate.”
The Sharp family narrowly missed out on a run in the 2015 Melbourne Cup when Sacramento Sal ran 2nd in a heat behind Bearville Azza, and being the fastest runner-up she was first reserve for the final.
Their excitement around Kouta Mayhem is evident. His first big scalp was a Shepparton Vic Bred Maiden series back in May, and it was then trainer Jason Sharp knew he had a serious greyhound on his hands.
“He’s the best dog I’ve ever had. Once he won the Vic Breeders at Shepparton I knew we had a dog that we could target Country Cups with. Stepping up to this class has always been in the back of my mind but I wasn’t convinced whether he’d run a strong 500m.
“I feel a lot more pressure when a greyhound of his ability races. There’s high expectations and you want to get the best out of him all of the time.”
Kouta Mayhem was one of 9 Prelude winners on the night who all gained exemption into next Friday’s TAB Melbourne Cup heats, which promises to be the year’s best night of greyhound racing. For more Melbourne Cup information head to superdogs.com.au
Click here for last night’s results
Click here for full list of exemption races
: Handler Dale Chapman with Jason Sharp and Kouta Mayhem
