Mepunga Shine brilliant in 2023 Group 1 Silver Chief win
In the all-male age-restricted Group 1 Silver Chief Classic (525m) at The Meadows, Mepunga Shine, trained by Jeff Britton, stole the show by leading the final field from start to finish on Saturday night, December 16, 2023.
The Barry Smith-owned black dog reached the Group 1 age classic final by finishing 0.81 lengths second behind Shima Steel in the heats the week prior in 29.87
But the move from box four in the heats to box three in the final proved decisive for the 32-kg greyhound when Mepunga Shine was able to gain the lead early and had a clear-length advantage over the field at the winning post the first time.
From that point, it was a case of “times and margins, please judge,” as Mepunga Shine cleared out by three lengths on Rocket Riot, who was doing all the chasing.
At the finish line, Mepunga Shine defeated Rocket Riot by 3.06 lengths, with Morton a further 1.4 lengths back in third place.
Mepunga Shine's winning time of 29.76 was faster than that recorded by Schillaci (28.87) when winning The Phoenix on the same night.
2023 Group 1 Silver Chief – Mepunga Shine (29.76) T: Jeff Britton
The son of Shima Shine and Mepunga Molly now has a race record of eight victories from just 12 starts, also running a sole second place in last week's Silver Chief Heats.
He has earned $140,510 in prizemoney for connections.
At The Meadows, Mepunga Shine has started six times for three wins and a second, while the greyhound is currently undefeated at Sandown in two starts there.