Group 3 Dapto Maiden tips – Fantastic Dotty primed for glory
BOOM youngster Fantastic Dotty will be aiming to take her imposing record to three wins from as many starts when she exits box two in Thursday night's Group 2 Dapto Maiden.
The beautifully bred daughter of Goodesy and Light Fantastic, $1.60 with Bet365, has been the highlight of the series, breaking Double Twist's 29.44 track record by one one hundredth of a second in her heat before smashing her own benchmark with a stunning 29.34 semi-final victory last Thursday.
The performances have taken many by surprise, including Fantastic Dotty's trainer, Jason Fletcher.
“I am very happy with how she has gone so far – she has exceeded all of my expectations,” he said.
“Her time last week surprised me – I did think she was a 29.50 dog before the start of the series and, although .16 of a second to get down to 29.34 doesn't sound like a lot, it is massive in reality.
“To have improved an extra two-and-a-half lengths on what I initially thought is really hard to believe – particularly at such a young age and being so inexperienced.
“It is always in the back of your mind that they won't put it all together on race day – you can have dogs that will trial the house down, but never do it in a race. Fortunately she has done the opposite and she is going even better than what she had been trialling – I hope she can keep doing what she has been.”
‘Dotty' is certainly bred to run being out of the handily-performed Light Fantastic, a litter sister to 2013 Group 1 Australian Cup runner-up, El Brooklyn, a litter which Fletcher bred.
“I bought a bitch called Dark Marne off Dennis Reid for $7,500 and it has worked out as the best investment ever.
“Her first litter contained El Brooklyn and Light Fantastic and everything just evolved from there.
“Light Fantastic had more ability than El Brooklyn – but El Brooklyn was more of a fierce chaser and was one of those dogs that wouldn't take a backwards step whereas Light Fantastic was scared of her own shadow.
“Ability wise Light Fantastic was a much faster dog – one night at Richmond in the middle of winter she won by 22 lengths in 41.71 – it was one of those amazing wins.”
Light Fantastic has proven to be a spectacular producer, her progeny including Fantastic Sid, Fantastic Spiral, Fantastic Mick and Fantastic Tail, all of which have been terrific city performers.
Fletcher is hoping his latest budding superstar can continue the success of Light Fantastic's offspring and is confident Fantastic Dotty will perform up to expectations in this week's $25,000-to-the-winner feature.
“She appears well drawn as she loves to rail and the three (Makenton Jag) looks to be a wide runner. As long as she uses the box and jumps well I think she will go well – she is as good as she could be and if she gets beat then we have no excuses.
“I don't think she needs to improve – as long as she keeps doing what she has been and is trying her best then that is all you can ask.”
Fantastic Dotty's main threats in the race appear to be Miracle (box four) and Tilly's Boy (box five), the latter having clocked a terrific 29.65 in the opening round of the series.
The Group 3 Dapto Maiden is race six and is set to jump at 9:05pm.
Lets check out the form of each runner in the race, with selections from Australian Racing Greyhound‘s expert tipster, Brad Bugeja.
Box One – Become The Fuse
Black Dog – 30.4kg – January 2013
Magic Sprite x Prancing Uno
Prize money: $555
Trainer: Owen Langley
Career: 2: 0-2-0
T/D: 2: 0-2-0
T/D Best: 29.80
“Talented youngster and he has turned in two fantastic performances in the heats but he is yet to snag a victory. Last week he stepped well and he was on the leader's hammer for the entire journey before going down narrowly in fast time. If he can reproduce a similar effort tonight he should give himself every chance to fill the quinella spot behind up and coming star Fantastic Dotty.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $5 with William Hill
Box Two – Fantastic Dotty
Black Bitch – 28.4kg – September 2013
Goodesy x Light Fantastic
Prize money: $1,910
Trainer: Jason Fletcher
Career: 2: 2-0-0
T/D: 2: 2-0-0
T/D Best: 29.34
“Excitement machine that has broken the track record in her first two starts and with an ounce of luck tonight she should be winning quite easily. On both occasions she has speared the lids and from there on it was a procession and she has won her two heats by a combined 30 lengths. She is going to be quite short in this event but there is very little speed drawn on her outside so she appears drawn to get the gun run and I wouldn't be taking her on.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $1.60 with Bet365
Box Three – Makenton Jag
Black Bitch – 26.7kg – April 2013
Prince Diablo x Satin Surf
Prize money: $3,120
Trainer: Chris Carl
Career: 24: 1-7-1
T/D: 2: 1-1-0
T/D Best: 29.70
“She took a while to break through but last week she showed her true talent with a great 29.96 heat win and the week before she was just as impressive when she went down narrowly in 29.65. This is clearly a big step up in class for her tonight but if she can balance up in the first four she is more than capable of taking home some minor money. She is an extremely strong chaser and it will be worth watching her as she steps up in distance in the near future.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $41 with William Hill
Box Four – Miracle
Black Dog – 33.0kg – December 2013
Magic Sprite x Indigo Gem
Prize money: $1,630
Trainer: Mark Azzopardi
Career: 5: 1-2-2
T/D: 2: 1-1-0
T/D Best: 29.89
“Improving type who two runs back really caught the eye with a slick 29.89 heat win, however she followed that effort up with a steady placing last week. On that occasion she did find a fair bit of bother in running but the effort still didn't measure to where it needed to be for her to be competitive tonight. The middle pin is a big disadvantage and with the speed drawn on her outside she is likely to get spat out the back in the initial stages.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $16 with William Hill
Box Five – Tilly's Boy
Black Dog – 29.1kg – November 2013
Lochinvar Marlow x Cosmic Essence
Prize money: $2,030
Trainer: Dean Swain
Career: 4: 2-1-0
T/D: 2: 2-0-0
T/D Best: 29.65
“Prior to this series he had always shown some talent, however he has gone to the next level since the commencement of this series. On both occasions he has gone 5.35 or quicker to the first marker and a repeat of that effort would see him land on the lure and he will prove hard to reel in running 29.70 on the arm. The big concern tonight is that he has been placed in the red draw in his two tries here and from the middle pin tonight he can't afford to make any mistakes at box rise. Great chance if he pings the lids but I wouldn't want to take anything shorter than $7.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $6 with William Hill
Box Six – Snowed All Day
White and Brindle Dog – 28.8kg – March 2014
Humdrum x Latifi Bee
Prize money: $430
Trainer: Augustus Weekes
Career: 2: 0-1-1
T/D: 2: 0-1-1
T/D Best: 30.11
“Showed tremendous improvement when placed in his heat last week and he will continue to improve over time, however from the poor draw tonight he is going to face an uphill battle. His lack of early speed means that he is likely to be posted wide for most of the journey and he will probably get put out of action at the first bend.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $61 with William Hill
Box Seven – Zipping Bianca
Red Fawn Bitch – 29.1kg – October 2013
Mantra Lad x Zipping Catra
Prize money: $555
Trainer: Trevor Jones
Career: 2: 0-2-0
T/D: 2: 0-2-0
T/D Best: 30.19
“Prior to the series she had trialled extremely well at Bathurst, however her two runs to date haven't really lived up to the expectations I had for her in this series. Last week she had the red draw and was pretty much untouched in running, yet she was beaten by a whopping 13 lengths by Fantastic Dotty. That means she has a lot of ground to make up and therefore I don't think she can make an impact tonight.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $41 with William Hill
Box Eight – Strugge Street
Blue Dog – 28.5kg – March 2014
Swift Fancy x Joy The Weapon
Prize money: $1,320
Trainer: Kristy Sultana
Career: 2: 1-1-0
T/D: 2: 1-1-0
T/D Best: 30.14
“He has exited this draw in his only two tries here and on both occasions he has turned in two handy performances, however his times probably aren't up to scratch and he is going to need a lot of things to go his way to feature. There is an even spread of speed underneath him and he is likely to get posted wide. Great effort to qualify but he is unlikely to make an impact.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $15 with William Hill
1st Reserve – Zamperini
Black Dog – 36.0kg – November 2013
Mogambo x Pearl Napolean
Prize money: $985
Trainer: Ruth King
Career: 2: 1-0-1
T/D: 2: 1-0-1
T/D Best: 30.06
“Exciting talent and if he happened to gain a start he could be the value. He was a slick 30.06 winner in the first round of heats and prior to that he did trial around this circuit in a sizzling 29.83. He is going to improve with every run and he could be one to watch in the coming months.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $20 with William Hill
2nd Reserve – Metal Magic
Black Dog – 28.8kg – January 2014
Magic Sprite x Sheikha
Prize money: $270
Trainer: Garry Frazer
Career: 2: 0-0-2
T/D: 2: 0-0-2
T/D Best: 30.17
“Turned in two solid efforts when placed in his heats and he will continue to get better as he steps up in distance, however if he gained a start tonight he is unlikely to feature. He lacks early speed and he hasn't shown enough to date to suggest that he can take ground off some of his speedier rivals.”
Odds to win the Dapto Maiden: $71 with William Hill
Top Four: 2 – 1 – 3 – 5
Suggested Bets:
Quinella: 2 to rove with 1,3,5 ($3 for 100%)
Exacta: 2/1,3,5 ($3 for 100%)
Trifecta: 2/1,3,5/1,3,5 ($6 for 100%)
Trifecta: 2/1/Field ($6 for 100%)
Trifecta: 2/1,3,5/Field ($18 for 100%)