Ballarat Pink Diamond finals preview & best bets | June 17, 2022
Ballarat will host 12 finals – all Group-level races – this Friday on what is one of the best nights of greyhound racing for the year. We have studied the form for the 2022 GRV Vic Breeders Pink Diamond Series grand finals and picked out some of the better bets on the program.
Race one will start at 6:57pm with the running of the Maiden Short Course Final. The Cups King in Ferdinand Boy goes around in race eight (Champion Sprinter Final) and has the cherry box, while the Jess Hopkins-trained Panama Canal has box six, and regulars to this site will know that we have been following the pair for all year.
Best Bet: AWE SHANKS (Race 12)
Ron Winter prepares this daughter of Aussie Infrared x Pat's Lass and she led all of the way in her two heat wins to win convincingly in the end. We hope she likes late nights, because the last race is one minute to 11, but we think she will be worth the wait. She has only really hit her straps in her last half a dozen starts and her confidence is high after winning when starting short quotes in her last two. This is her first time racing at Ballarat, but we're liking the fact that on the speed maps she has a superior first split to her rivals in boxes one and two. She should lead and go very close.
Best Bet
Race 12 – 
Awe Shanks (3)
Form: 71511 | Career: 18: 7-1-2 | Trainer: Ron Winter
Next Best: KING CUNNINGTON (Race 1)
Because the greyhound in the red does normally miss the start a bit, King Cunnington could find the rails very early from box two in this 390m event. The black dog out of Fernando Bale x Rocka Hula Baby got his two career wins at Warragul from this same box. Jelly Bean Jojo for Daryl Brennan is quick early and will start favourite in this race, but box five is a concern for any greyhound in a final. Commander Tommy will be running on late and is next best.
Next Best
Race 1 – 
King Cunnington (2)
Form: 11 | Career: 2: 2-0-0 | Trainer: Peter Presutto
Value Bet: LUCA'S JEBRYNAH (Race 5)
This Bryan Sykes-trained greyhound has won 16 races from 37 starts in what is a tremendous strike rate. There is a lot of early pace in this race, and we think he will be up there again and will be over the odds. He drew two poor boxes at Warragul (4 and 7) and still settled handy and won well, so box six may not worry him. He missed best-of-night honours by half a length at Warragul last week, and with boxes seven and eight being slightly slower than him to the first split, he could cross and prove hard to beat.
Best Value
Race 5 – 
Luca's Jebrynah (8)
Form: 121111 | Career: 37: 16-8-6 | Trainer: Bryan Sykes
