Elevated and My Redeemer – the top two qualifiers for the $50,000 Bill Collins Speed Star – have drawn each other in Thursday night’s match race extravaganza.
The pair are separated by just 0.007 seconds on qualifying times and enter the series in impressive form. My Redeemer booked his ticket in to the series with a stunning gallop to win last Thursday night in 29.123, while Elevated showed she’s recovered well from a minor injury with a slick hand slip after the last race on Sunday.
However Elevated’s trainer Harry Manolitsis was cautious about his charge’s chances on Thursday night.
“They can both lead, they both have great mid-race pace and are both strong. It’s an advantage having the inside draw but she hasn’t had a 500m run for five weeks so she is slightly underdone,” he said.
In the My Redeemer camp, trainer David Geall agreed that it is hard to split the two.
“There’s not much between the two of them (My Redeemer and Elevated),” said Geall.
“Their first sections, run home times and overall times are virtually identical, and I think that whichever one of them can get a half a length break over the other will win.”
Elevated is a younger half-sister to dual Speed Star winner Bewildering and is the second fastest female ever to race at the View Road circuit courtesy of her 29.116 qualifying run. She is aiming to create history by becoming the first female winner of the Speed Star, however somewhat surprisingly, top seeds have a poor record in the match race format with none successful since Smart Missile claimed the inaugural series.
Other matches over 515m sees West Australian star Quick Jagger take on Dyna Wazza, the brilliant Poke The Bear meet Dyna Patty, and Mossimo Bale clash with Alpha Georgiou.
Over the 595m group 3 Racecallers, top seed Dyna Chancer will meet Magic Will who made the cut following his brilliant qualification trial on Sunday afternoon. Series favourite Tornado Tears will meet Wynburn Cutie which also trialled her way into the series on Sunday. Dyna Dean, a five time winner over the distance, will meet Benali, while Myrniong Corner to meet It’s A Party in the final match over the distance.
Rippin’ Sam firmed as favourite for the group 3 Lizrene after drawing kennelmate Bacarli in the 715m series. The group 1 Galaxy winner has been a revelation since stepping up to the stayer’s journey, winning 10 of his 13 runs over the ‘half-mile,’ including his brilliant 41.559 qualifying run recorded in January. Sir Jay Jay, who ran second to Burn One Down in last September’s Speed Star and is the only stayer with experience in this format, will take on Sharp Diamond. Association Cup winner Scott Keeping meets Back On Lava, with Simon Keeping taking on Jane’s Intention in the final match of the series.
The winner of each match in the Bill Collins, Racecallers, and Lizrene will each receive $5000 with the fastest time overall pocketing an additional $20,000.
The Speed Star is greyhound racing’s newest and most exciting format of racing, bringing together the country’s fastest chasers to compete head to head and against the clock for a share in $190,000 in prize money. Greyhounds qualify for the series based on their times in races and qualifying trials at Sandown Park from 1 January and are randomly drawn into their respective matches.
TAB is offering a range of fixed odds markets across the entire card of 20 match races, and you can catch all the action from Sandown Park on Sky Racing 2’s special extended coverage of the Speed Star (channel 527) from 6.30pm – open and free for all Foxtel subscribers. Matches are run approximately every 8 minutes ensuring a thrilling night of racing.
PLUS, patrons on course have the chance to win $30,000 in our Top Dog Tipping competition! Click here for further information.
Click here for further information about the Speed Star, form for each match, and latest TAB markets.
Elevated is the Bill Collins Speed Star top seed courtesy of this brilliant 29.116 gallop
