While Zipping Rambo stole the show in the RSN Sandown Cup meeting, he wasn’t the only talking point to emerge from the meeting.
There were plenty of fast runs, big wins and personal milestones – all of the things that make our sport great.
After a look make at a memorable 2021 RSN Sandown Cup night, here’s nine things you may have missed.
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1. The money lands again and again
Zipping Rambo first turned heads with the second fastest 595m gallop ever at Sandown Park in early April, and while trainers Mark and Lisa Delbridge weren’t convinced he’d stay the 715m journey going into the RSN Sandown Cup series, many punters had no doubt after his performance in the heats.
Opening a $12 quote after drawing box 4 on Saturday morning, Zipping Rambo was quickly backed into $6 and continued to firm through the week, eventually starting the $3.90 second favourite.
But he wasn’t the only well supported runner to salute on the night.
– Gypsy Wyong left it late in the opening event but saluted after being backed from $2.90 into $2.50
– Eat My Dust firmed from $4 into $2.20 to claim the VicBred maiden final in impressive fashion
– Qwara Bale was well supported in her bid for a fifth straight win, $2.30 into $1.80
– Hank The Hustler, one of the hard luck stories from heats night, made no mistake in the Cup Night Stayers, $3.10 into $2.20 including one bet of $10,000 @ $2.50
– Weblec Jet claimed the 9th, in from $3.60 to $2.70.
Interestingly, most of the moves were the result of sustained support rather than large bets.
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2. Qwara Bale keeps getting better
Qwara Bale is quickly becoming one of the country’s hottest prospects. After winning the Warrnambool Cup, she came to Sandown Park and won her heat of the Sapphire Crown in 29.28 before winning the final in 29.27. Last night, she jumped an odds on favourite in a hot Gr8 Eight and again got the job done, this time in 29.172.
It was night only her fifth win in a row, it was her fifth from five at Sandown Park. Her time makes her the 8th fastest bitch ever at Sandown Park and moved her into 10th place in the Speed Star standings.
Just seven weeks after her second birthday, she’s now won two group races as well as the Gr8 Eight among her 14 wins from 23 starts and over $200,000 in prize money.
She opened a $51 chance for the TAB Melbourne Cup. She’s now into $17 second favouritism.
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3. Aston Fastnet is a seriously fast dog
His brother Aston Rupee set tongues wagging after his stunning 28.927 Speed Star trial last Sunday, but Aston Fastnet sent a timely reminder to all that he is a seriously fast greyhound.
He ran 29.11 at his sixth career start, but his inconsistent box manners kept him from showing that ability since. He turned that around with brilliant run at Cranbourne and in the final at Sandown last night, stopped the clock in 29.176.
While connections originally had planned for a trip to Albion Park for the Flying Amy, COVID restrictions have made flights north difficult so Wednesday’s Speed Star is back on the cards.
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4. Hank shows hustle
He mightn’t have had a lot of luck in the Sandown Cup heat so Hank The Hustler created his own in the Listed Cup Night Stayers. Pouncing straight to the front and slashing more than two lengths off his first split time, he held off the impressive Five Star by half a length when winning in 41.59, a time two lengths faster than Zipping Rambo’s Cup victory.
Hank The Hustler is the fastest we’ve seen over 715m since track record holder Here’s Tears (who ran third in the Cup Night Stayers) set the new mark 16 months ago. Trainer Jeff Britton advised that the Speed Star over 715m is likely but will wait a few days before making a final decision.
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5. No case of second up syndrome
There is some debate about ‘second up syndrome’, the ability of a greyhound to back up after their first go over the staying trip especially for front running stayers.
Much was made of Tyler Durden’s stunning early splits in his upset heat win over series favourite Zack Monelli with the biggest question around his ability to repeat that effort in the final. The answer, in short, was almost.
Despite the wide draw, he ran 0.01 faster to the first split in the final (5.98, equal fourth fastest ever) and matched his 15.43 to the second (equal second fastest). His 30.22 to the third marker was 0.14 slower, however he still stuck on well to run third just over two lengths adrift of Zipping Rambo. His overall time of 41.864 was just 0.121 – wo lengths – outside of his heat time.
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6. Survive and advance
There was a strong push around the traps for Eat My Dust in the Vic Bred Maiden final and the John Barbara trained son of Barcia Bale delivered.
Just 18 months of age and thus scraping into eligibility for the series, Eat My Dust scraped through to the semi final after running third in his heat and scraped into final after running fourth in his semi final having been beaten 14 lengths by the (at that stage) undefeated Osprey Phantom. However drawing box 1 ensured a clear run for Eat My Dust and he took full advantage to claim the $12,000 winner cheque.
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7. The fine margins
Early speed matters, and the finest of margins can be the difference between a win and a loss. Slick Intention unable to run down Aston Glow in his heat of the Judy Hayley Memorial last Sunday after Aston Glow ran 5.12 to the first mark compared to Slick Intention’s 5.30, the three length difference at the post the first time proving a deciding factor in the two length margin at the line.
In the final, Aston Glow stepped fractionally slower (5.19) and Slick Intention fractionally quicker (5.26), reducing the differential to just 0.07 at the first peg which allowed Slick Intention to exploit his superior strength at the end to claim the 10th edition of the Judy Hayley Memorial by a neck.
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8. The better half
Correy Grenfell has had a fantastic run of late, winning the group 1 Harrison-Dawson with Tiggerlong Tonk followed by the Wagga Cup with Yozo Bale. Last night, it was his wife Sam’s turn in the spotlight with her first Sandown winning double.
And they did in different ways – roughie Xavien Bale led all of the way to claim race 10, while favourite Kinson Bale came from last to win race 11. The running double paid a healthy $91.10, far in excess of the $34.30 you could have got all up.
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9. Injury update
X-rays revealed that RSN Sandown Cup favourite has avoided a fracture to his hock however he did rupture a ligament which will see him in a split for the next six weeks before commencing stud duties.
Meanwhile Let’s See underwent surgery on Friday morning to repair her hock and will retire to the couch once recovered.
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Click here for full results and replays from the 2021 RSN Sandown Cup night.
