High Earner Now Relying On High Hopes
Dashing Corsair has tonight used all his strength and the rails draw to set up a thrilling set of circumstances to the 2009 National Sprint Championship Final.
In the shadows of the post and after almost “duffing” a passing move on leader High Earner, Dashing Corsair tonight claimed the Queensland National Sprint Championship in a race that became a race in two after box rise.
As expected High Earner stepped only moderately but quickly accelerated across the field to the lead through the first corner and began to open up and gap the field.
But just as you expected High Earner to put a huge gap between himself and the rest, Dashing Corsair had used box one for all its worth and managed to tag on to High Earner and was never more than four lengths behind the leader.
As they left the back Dashing Corsair had managed to peg that back to just over two lengths and multiple group winner High Earner was always going to be in trouble.
As they entered the straight Dashing Corsair completely misjudged a passing move on High Earner and ran smack in to the back of the leader and checked in the air. Despite that setback Dashing Corsair was able to balance up again and claim High Earner in 29.95.
Starting $1.90 favourite despite being beaten by High Earner last start, Dashing Corsair claimed his first Queensland National Sprint Championship title and the first for his trainer Dwyer Lennon.
A red fawn dog by Malfoy ~ Rose Flamenco and owned by Paddy Fitch, Dashing Corsair was whelped in April 2007 and tonight represents his 21st win from 47 starts and the $10,000 prizemoney takes his career prizemoney to $73,225.
The win books Dashing Corsair his ticket to Perth for the $50,000 to the winner Group 1 National Sprint Championship Final at Cannington, a track where he already has good experience having raced so well over there in May 2009 during the WA Derby series where he won a heat and ran second in the Group 2 final behind High Earner.
While it will be his first Group 1 final appearance, it will not be Dashing Corsair's first group final having made the Group 2 WA Final finishing second, running third behind High Earner again in the Group 2 Queensland Derby; and finishing second behind Velocette in the Group 2 Gold Coast Cup at Albion Park.
Regardless of who else qualifies for the big final Dashing Corsair will not just be making up the numbers in Perth and has genuine prospects of his first Group 1 success.
Meanwhile, Dashing Corsair's win over High Earner has left the multiple Derby winning greyhound relying on results from the Victorian National Sprint Championship Final on Saturday night at The Meadows to gain a start in the Group 1 final at Cannington.
Prior to tonight's racing Velocette was the highest AGRA ranked eligible greyhound under the new rules that decide the eighth selected greyhound for the Nationals finals. High Earner was the second highest ranked, Turanza Bale third ranked, Miss Slick fourth ranked and Dashing Corsair the fifth ranked eligible greyhound.
With Graeme Bate starting three of the Victorian National Sprint Championship finalists, he is also starting two of the three highest ranked greyhounds in Velocette and Turanza Bale.
For High Earner to gain the last spot in the National Sprint Championship Final, Velocette must win the Victorian National Sprint Championship Final from box 8, thereby making High Earner the highest ranked greyhound not to win his their state final. If Velocette cannot win the Victorian National Sprint Championship Final, he is in the enviable position of still being able to secure his pass to Cannington as the highest ranked greyhound.
But all these equations rely on the fact that Velocette actually starts in Saturday's race because as we saw with the late scratching of Fedex who was the highest ranked greyhound at the time before the heats, and the withdrawal of Mantra Lad from the Victorian National Distance Championship Final, there are no certainties in racing. Should Velocette not take his place in the Victorian National Sprint Championship Final High Earner will automatically take the last spot in to the Cannington final.
[…] Queensland will be focussed on the Victorian National Sprint Championship at The Meadows. In short High Earners hops of a National Sprint Championship Final berth hinge on Velocette winning tonight&#… from box 8. Meanwhile up in Sydney, Victorian greyhound trainer is aiming to secure a matching […]