Maurice Minor takes out 2017 Ipswich Derby
MAURICE Minor (Cosmic Rumble x Shabeky Jun '15) scored the first feature win of his career when taking out Saturday night's Ipswich Derby over 520m.
Stepping well from box eight, Maurice Minor carved across the field to take the early lead and was never behind another runner, crossing the line six and one quarter lengths clear of Alpha Chaos (Magic Sprite x Queen Of Cyprus Jul '15) in a fast 30.42.
Trained and bred by Tom Tzouvelis, Maurice Minor has now won eight of his 21 starts with seven placings, with Saturday's winner's cheque elevating his career earnings above the $20,000 mark.
Tzouvelis, who also won last month's Group 3 Darwin Cup with Off And On, said he was hoping for a bold display from his talented greyhound.
Derby Winner for Maurice Minor #Walter #Ipswich fantastic
— Shabeky (@morrisperry) September 2, 2017
“I knew he was good enough,” Tzouvelis told Australian Racing Greyhound.
“I was expecting something like that from him – he went 30.59 in the Ipswich Auction series so now that he has a bit of age on him I thought he'd improve a bit which was nice to see.
“He isn't the greatest beginner but he seems to be getting better and I think that's the key to him – if he can really figure it out I think he will be a very nice dog.”
Tzouvelis said the two-year-old red fawn dog has always shown plenty of ability and is really coming of age since competing in the Northern Territory where he finished seventh in the Darwin Cup final.
“He has been pretty good from day dot. He started his career off over the shorts to get some experience ahead of the Ipswich Auction series and he ended up making the final at around 21 months of age,” Tzouvelis said.
“After that we made the decision to send him to Darwin with Off And On which was targeting the Darwin Cup just to get some experience with travelling and new environments and it seems to have done him the world of good.
“He won a few races up there and since being back he seems to have matured and I think he is a better dog.”
With good solid form to his name, Tzouvelis said Maurice Minor will now make another interstate campaign in pursuit of group glory.
“He seems to have pulled up well so if everything goes to plan he'll now head over to South Australia for a crack at the Derby,” he said.
“If goes like he did on Saturday night he is going to be right in it over there.
“I am very happy with him.”
The heats of the Group 3 SA Derby will be run and won at Angle Park on September 14.
Also run at Ipswich on Saturday night was the $10,250 Ipswich Futurity for female greyhounds.
Top honours went to Roxanne Benz (Kinloch Brae x Katherine Benz Oct '15) which was able to find the front down the back straight, holding on to defeat the fast-finishing Barbarella (Fabregas x Short Stories Nov '15) by three quarters of a length in 31.33.
Owned by the Sovereign Racing Syndicate and trained by Beverley Beesley, Roxanne Benz took her record to four wins and one placing from 12 starts, with her prize money now sitting at $10,768.