Scott-Smith rules out staying campaign for Dundee Osprey

has ruled out a potential staying campaign for superstar greyhound Dundee Osprey after he recorded a thrilling win in Monday night's Group 1 Sale Cup (650m).

Stepping from box two, the black dog rolled straight to the lead and was never headed, scoring by 4.36 lengths over Crichton Bale (box one) in 37.88 on a rain-affected track.

Scott-Smith says he went into the final expecting a strong performance from and the son of and Dundee Rose didn't disappoint.

“Once he drew box two and after seeing what was drawn in the red and the three I thought he had a good chance of beating them out,” Scott-Smith said.

“I thought the main opposition was drawn out wide so I figured if he got a clear run early he would just about lead them and sneak away with it – luckily for us that's exactly what happened.”

Despite being quietly confident heading into the $75,000 final, Scott-Smith concedes he did have some doubts as to whether his greyhound would run out the trip prior to the series.

“I have had this race in the back of my mind for a while, but watching him run in a few 595m races at Park I had my doubts whether he would run it out.

“But I decided to run him in the series after his last run in the John Dillon (595m). Even though he got beaten it was a fairly strong run.

“After that we gave him a post to post at and he went as good as any dog that's been around there – but you still never know how they are going to run it out.

“It was a relief to see him pull it off – he came through with flying colours.”

The victory took Dundee Osprey's career record to 17 wins and 12 minor placings from 41 starts, with prize money earnings now in excess of $450,000. The black dog is also the winner of the 2016 Harrison-Dawson, the Group 1 and the .

Despite being a winner at the highest level over the tough 650m trip, Scott-Smith says he is not to pursue a staying campaign with the three-year-old.

“He would probably run it out, but he puts in so hard that sometimes he pulls up a bit rough and it takes him a few days to get over the run.

“I don't want to push him too hard.”

Reflecting on 2016 as a whole, Scott-Smith says Dundee Osprey has been a life-changing greyhound, with more big plans on the horizon after the new year.

“He has had a fair bit of 600m racing in the past few weeks so I will probably give him a couple of weeks off now to freshen him up and then look at something like the Cup.

“It is fantastic to have a dog like him – he is such an honest boy and he gives it his all every time he goes around.

“It is hard enough to win a city race let alone what he has done.

“He's just an amazing dog.”

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