Superstayers Invitational Elite Four Announced
Group 1 experience will take on new talent when Australia's best stayers go head to head in the Hawkins Media Solutions Superstayers Invitiational on July 2 at Albion Park.
Experienced top performers including Group One Sandown Cup and Shootout winner Mantra Lad, and consistent Group placing bitch Lady Moscato, will take on new staying sensations Amity Bale and Forty Twenty.
The Hawkins Media Solutions Superstayers Invitational features a match race between the four best stayers in the country as determined by the Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club and is worth $22,000 in prize money.
The only stayer missing from the final field is Group One Cartwright Property Group Gold Cup winning bitch Queen Lauryn, who came on season last week sidelining her from racing for at least four months.
Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club general manager Luke Gatehouse said the race was going to be a great battle of proven elite greyhounds against new and exciting talent.
“This will be one of our most exciting Superstayers yet,” said Mr Gatehouse.
“There are some serious Stayers in Australian greyhound racing at the moment, and it was very hard to narrow it down to this field,” he said.
“You have Group One champion Mantra Lad and consistent top race performer Lady Moscato taking on two very young and exciting greyhounds.
“Amity Bale has been blitzing them down south with very smart times, and Forty Twenty who is no stranger to the Brisbane track and last week smashed the Dapto 729m track record.”
The Melbourne-based Mantra Lad, trained by Graham Jose, ran second to Queen Lauryn earlier this month in the Cartwright Property Group Gold Cup.
The staying superstar has earned more than $296,000 in prize money, including the Group One Sandown Cup and Shootout.
The Bob Wright-trained Lady Moscato has been in Brisbane since placing third in the Gold Cup, winning last week at Albion Park. Her record includes top three placings in the Group One Sandown Cup in Melbourne, and the Group One Gold Cup in Brisbane, and has won over $80,000 in prize money.
Amity Bale has had the greyhound racing industry in awe having a solid career as a sprinter, and then stepping up to distance racing for the first time on June 4 at Sandown, running in a near record time of 41.96. She has now won three from three starts in very quick times.
The John Heard-trained Forty Twenty has won a bevvy of fans with his running style, consistently chasing down top performers to win a variety of feature races including the Garrards Winter Chase at Albion Park last month, and breaking the Dapto 729m record last week by 0.7 seconds.
The Hawkins Media Solutions Superstayers was established by the Brisbane Club in 2006 and was originally a match race between four champion staying bitches of the time; Miss Brook, Miss Grub, Lucy's Light and Quidame. The race was known as the Queen Of The Creek.
The race was so successful with punters and in the greyhound racing industry that the Club decided to open it up to the four best stayers in Australia and renamed it the Superstayers and securing Hawkins Media Solutions as the major sponsor.
Mr Gatehouse said it was one of the most exciting races in the annual Sky Channel Winter Chasing Carnival and Australian greyhound racing calendar.
“By having only four greyhounds, it really evens up the field so that true ability shines through,” he said.
“What can often be a problem with a field of eight in the big races is that if you don't draw a good box you can get trapped or knocked, any variety of factors can come into play.”
“With this race, however, you eliminate a lot of these and it gives a great indicator of raw speed.”
The Hawkins Media Solutions Superstayers will be run at the Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club at Albion Park on Thursday night, 2 July 2009.
Entry and parking is free, with gates opening at 6pm.
For further information see www.brisgreys.com or contact the Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club on (07) 3862 1744.
Hawkins Media Solutions Superstayers
Amity Bale
- Owner: Paul Wheeler
- Trainer: Graeme Bate
- 52 – 17 – 10 – 10 $75,150
- 700m record: 3 – 3 – 0 – 0
- Won Heat Group 1 Melbourne Cup 2008
- Won Heat Group 2 McKenna Memorial 2009
Lady Moscato
- Owner: Arthur Langman
- Trainer: Bob Wright
- 46 – 18 – 11 – 8 $81,750
- 700m record: 13 – 5 – 3 – 3
- Won Heat Group 3 Lizrene Classic 2009
- 2nd Final Group 3 Lizrene Classic 2009
- 2nd Heat Group 1 Sandown Cup 2009
- 2nd Heat Group 1 Albion Park Gold Cup 2009
- 3rd Final Group 1 Sandown Cup 2009
- 3rd Final Group 1 Albion Park Gold Cup 2009
Forty Twenty
- Trainer: John Heard
- 19 – 14 – 1 – 1 $33,545
- 700m record: 9 – 6 – 0 – 1
- Won Heat Garrards Winter Chase 2009
- Won Final Garrards Winter Chase 2009
- Won Heat Group 1 Albion Park Gold Cup 2009
- Track Records: Dapto 729m 2009, Richmond 717m 2009
Mantra Lad
- Owner: Martin Hallinan and Fiona Hallinan
- Trainer: Graeme Jose
- 40 – 16 – 8 – 5 $296,920
- 700m record: 14 – 7 – 3 – 2
- Won National Distance State Final Victoria 2008
- Won Group 1 National Distance Final 2008
- Won Group 3 Swan Draft Sprint Challenge 2009
- Won Heat Group 1 Sandown Cup 2009
- Won Final Group 1 Sandown Cup 2009
- Won Heat Group1 Albion Park Gold Cup 2009
- 2nd Final Group 1 Albion Park Gold Cup 2009
- 2nd Heat Group 3 Lizrene Classic 2009
- 3rd Heat Group 2 McKenna Memorial 2009
- Track Record: Meadows 725m 2008
Reserve – Lilley Criminal
- Owners: Bigger Than Life Australia Syndicate
- Trainer: Anthony Azzopardi
- 56 – 24 – 7 – 7 $216,298
- 700m record: 24 – 11 – 4 – 3
- Won Heat Group 2 AWM Distance 2008
- Won Heat Group 2 Summer Cup 2008
- Won Final Group 2 Summer Cup 2008
- Won Heat Group 1 Association Cup 2009
- Won Final Group 1 Association Cup 2009
- Won Final Group 1 Australian Superstayers 2009
- Won Group 3 Easter Chase 2009
- 2nd Heat Group 2 Bold Trease Carnival Cup 2008
- 2nd Heat Group 3 Lizrene Classic 2009
- 3rd Heat Group 1 Australian Superstayers 2009
- 3rd Heat Group 1 Galaxy 2009
- Track Record: The Gardens 715m 2008
[…] quoted as accepting the invitation to start in elite staying event, getting a run a reserve when original Superstayers Invitational starter Lady Moscato had to be withdrawn after splitting her webbing running a very dissapointing race oover the staying […]