It may have been 14 years ago but Bentley Babe’s victory in the 2001 Sandown Cup remains fresh in Peter Dapiran’s memory.
Bentley Babe gave Dapiran one of his greatest thrills in the sport when edging out NSW star Pearl Larricki and he’s hopeful of winning the world’s richest staying event for a second time on Thursday night with another talented female in Zipping Maggie.
“Bentley Babe’s Sandown Cup win was a long time ago now but I remember it as if it was yesterday,” Dapiran said.
“Bentley Babe was highballing out in front – that was her style – and she just held on. She would basically sprint for 700 metres and if they were able to run her down then good luck to them.
“The biggest difference is that the Sandown Cup was worth $50,000 back then and it’s worth $175,000 now!
“Bentley Babe was a mighty bitch. She won quite a few other Group races and also held the record over the distance at Sandown for a while. She ran second to Brett Lee in the Victorian Greyhound of the Year award as well.
“Zipping Maggie is a handy greyhound – she’s won over $100,000 – but she hasn’t gone to the same level as Bentley Babe did.”
While Zipping Maggie mightn’t have scaled the same lofty heights as Bentley Babe – yet – she’s faced some very serious opposition since embarking on her staying career in mid-2014.
Over the last 12 months the staying ranks have been dominated in turn by superstars Xylia Allen, Sweet It Is and now Space Star, prohibitive $1.28 favourite in the TAB’s Fixed Odds Sandown Cup market.
After campaigning in Sydney – where she finished midfield behind Space Star in both the Group 1 Association Cup and Group 3 Gold Cup – Zipping Maggie had a brief let-up before last Thursday’s Sandown Cup heats, where she was run down late by defending champion Sweet It Is (Replay).
Dapiran expects Zipping Maggie to improve in the final, despite drawing box five, and she’ll need to after Robert Britton’s Space Star clocked the second fastest time ever recorded over 715m at Sandown when winning his heat in 41.26sec.
“She was a little bit underdone in her heat so she’ll strip a bit fitter this week,” Dapiran said.
“There’s pace in the red (Cosmic Vee Bee) but the two (Sweet It Is), three (Love Affair) and four (Lady Toy) don’t have a lot of early speed so I’m hoping either the red or Zipping Maggie will be able to hold out the outside dogs, including the champ (Space Star – box 8), of course.
“Space Star is just about unbeatable at the moment and he’ll need to be held up to give the rest of us a chance, but if that happens I think Zipping Maggie’s got a good chance of pulling it off.”
Bred from Martin Hallinan’s production line renowned for strength, Zipping Maggie has the pedigree to win the Sandown Cup, with her dam Natalie Rass a Group-winning half-sister to 2009 Sandown Cup hero Mantra Lad.
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