THE Group 1 Temlee will be run and won at The Meadows on Saturday night and promises to be an exciting and enticing affair, despite the current furore that surrounds greyhound racing.
Zipping Willow has been withdrawn, giving the first reserve Marcus Joe an opportunity to compete for the $100,000 winner's cheque.
My Bro Fabio is currently the $2.90 favourite with Sportingbet and is on a hot-streak, having claimed up his third straight win earlier this month in the Group 1 Perth Cup.
The Brooke Ennis-trained chaser has a blistering personal best time of 29.69 at The Meadows and will give punters plenty of confidence from box eight, with an impeccable record of four wins from five attempts in the wide alley.
Robert Britton puts the polish on Above All, currently $3.20 with Sportingbet, which has only been beaten once at The Meadows in four starts. The son of Magic Sprite and Kara Janx is already a dual Group 1 winner and has a sizzling personal best time of 29.76 over the track and distance.
The is plenty of value to be found in the race, with Melbourne Cup hero Dyna Villa a massive $7.00 at time of publishing. A win in the race would take his prize money earnings to $736,330 – less than $10,000 away from breaking Xylia Allen's all time record.
The race is scheduled to jump at 9.52pm (Victorian time).
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Has a love affair with this track and if he gained a start he wouldn't be without a hope, especially if he comes up with the red draw. He has solid early speed and he can go with any of these mid race, will be big odds but is not without a serious chance if he gains a start.”
Kerry Drynan (Kennel Representative): “Happy with the box draw. She's trialling well, but will have to step away cleanly to be competitive. Definitely not confident.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “If this race was run in November/December she would have been a short priced favourite and just about a good thing, however at present she is racing well below her best and she is lacking confidence. She can ping the lids and when she finds the lure she is a different chaser, however I'm a little worried that she is going to bump with the red soon after box rise and I dont think she can recover after that.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Absolute freak and he is the current track record holder here. If you knew that he was going to get a clear run you would absolutely unleash on him because he is the fastest chaser in the race but his box manners aren't reliable and he will be looking to push wide at the first bend. There is a fair bit of speed draw on his outside tonight so he isn't going to get things his own way and he is likely to get squeezed out early. He is extremely strong in the run home so even if he does find bother early he should be able to run home into a place.”
Brad Canty (Owner): “I think he will go well, but he needs to come out running to be a chance in this race.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Has been a great chaser for quite a while now and if he takes his place he is a genuine winning hope. Last time out he returned to form with a dazzling 29.39 Sandown Park win and he has the speed to get across and find the rail early. He tends to do his best racing at Sandown Park but he has raced well here in the past and if he can find the early lead he will prove very hard to reel in.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja:Absolute star and he loves racing here, his last couple of starts have been a tad disappointing but he is clearly better than that and he tends to race better from wide draws. With a slow beginner on his outside, he should get plenty of room to muster speed early and that should allow him to swoop into the early lead. He has proven in his career that he is a very fast chaser when he can dictate the terms out in front and he is always very hard to get past. I know he has been a tad disappointing of late but he should be ready to get back to his best and he might be over the odds tonight.”
Robert Britton (Trainer): “It's a strong field. He's feeling good so you gotta be in it with a chance.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Freak talent who has had a couple of problems in recent weeks, if he is 100% fit then he is definitely a major player. Prior to having a short spell, he did capture the Group 1 Silver Chief final here and his effort to win that final was enormous. It is going to take another big effort tonight but if he is afforded a clear run early he should get every chance to put himself into contention. He obviously has to be respected but I think he will be under the odds tonight.”
Tony Brett (Trainer): “He's not badly boxed. If he can time the jump better than he did in his trial he will hopefully be up with the leaders heading into the first turn. He is feeling enormous and ready to run a great race.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Classy Queenslander and he really caught the eye in his trial here last week. In that effort he posted a sizzling 29.78 and I think he is capable of finding at least two lengths on that run. He only went through the first marker in 5.21, so clearly he missed the kick. With a clean getaway tonight he should be able to hit the first marker in around 5.04 and that would see him vying for the lead and he will prove extremely hard to hold out whilst running around the 29.60 mark. He is sort of the forgotten one, about six months ago he was the next big thing in racing but unfortunately he has been sparingly raced of late due to injury, I think tonight is the night he announces his arrival to the big stage.”
Jamie Ennis (Kennel Representative): “He's come back from Perth in really good halt and he's trial at this track during the week was very good. I'm hoping Dyna Villa cuts hard to the fence, which he normally does and I'm sure he'll run well, just need to luck at the first corner.”
ARG's Brad Bugeja: “Absolute beast and he turned in a monster effort to win the Perth Cup last time out. Once again he is going to have his work cut out because he is going to be giving a gun lineup a big head start, however if he can settle around mid field and avoid early bother, he should be able to put himself into contention. There is no doubting he has the talent to beat any one of these chasers but I'm a little concerned that he will be posted wide for most of the journey, I would be anchoring him for second and third in your exotics.”