Embye raced into favouritism for the 715m Lizrene Speed Star Series following his dazzling 41.565 qualification trial at Sandown Park last night.
Trained by Ruth Matic in New South Wales, Embye was having just his second start over the ‘half-mile’ and surprised even his trainer with his performance.
“I didn’t expect he’d go that quick,” said Matic.
“I thought he’d go alright but not quite that quick – I was hoping he’d go around the 41.80 mark and I would have been really happy.”
The greyhound has long had a reputation for being a very fast animal with his last nine victories coming in the fastest time of the day, including his last three starts as well as a stunning trial in track record time.
“The people who broke him in said to the owner ‘I could ring any trainer in Australia and they’d take this dog on what he’s broken in.’
“His last start was a 700 at Wentworth Park where he went 41.88, which they reckon is probably the fastest first up 700. That was on the Friday night, and on the Monday previous he went 29.45 in a trial at Nowra over 520m (half a length faster than the track record of 29.48).”
Following the trial, TAB.com.au slashed Embye’s odds from $4.50 to $2.60 to win the Lizrene Speed Star on Sunday 5 May making him equal favourite with Dyna Chancer.
The final opportunity for greyhounds to qualify for the match race series is on Sunday 28 April, with the fields and match ups to be determined on Wednesday 1 May.
Later in the evening, Miriam took out the inaugural ANZAC Appeal Cup with an impressive 1¾ length victory in 29.43.
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Click here for full results from Wednesday night’s meeting.
Embye powers into Lizrene Speed Star favouritism
Paw note: Embye’s kennel name is Moses, having been named after West Tigers rugby league star Moses Mbye
