Rockhampton greyhound tips & quaddie picks | Friday, April 21
Rockhampton is set to host 12 races on Friday afternoon from 3:11pm local time, including five cracking heats of the 2023 Rockhampton Cup. These heats are full of star power, featuring the likes of Springtime Jet, Jay Is Jay, Shipwreck, De Ferran, Hello Mike, Grim Madara and local star Dixie Gambles. Seven dogs will join More Peaches in the final next week, which carries a $75,000 winner’s purse.
Best Bet: Jay Is Jay (Race 6)
The superstar of the series lines up in race six and appears to have it at his mercy. Jay Is Jay, arguably the quickest dog in Queensland, broke the long-standing Albion Park 520m track record on March 16 in a scintillating 29.35s. Since then, he has had a failed Golden Easter Egg campaign when finishing fifth in his heat. By all reports he has pulled up well, and team Zammit has snuck him up to Rocky where he recorded a quick 4.75/9.68 box to box. That first and second split is cooking heat and will have him leading this race. If he does just that, he is well and truly capable of running around 29.30s, which is completely unbeatable across the card. Local hope Dixie Gambles has been the one punters have crunched; however, she has always struggled from the pink box, as her record suggests (0/7), and if she doesn’t find the bunny, she’s only capable of going 29.80s tops. Expect Jay Is Jay to continue to drift due to the box, first time at the track and a failure next to his name last start, but don’t be worried as everything is running smoothly within.
Best Bet
Race 6 –
Form: 111215 | Career: 18: 8-4-3 | Trainer: Selena Zammit
Next Best: Signify (Race 12)
The Lindsay McCarthy-trained Signify boasts an unassuming 8: 1-1-3 track record with a personal best of 24.09s. Interestingly enough, he has drawn box seven on five occasions, which certainly hasn’t aided his chances as he isn’t the best beginner and needs luck. Often at the 407m start at Rockhampton, runners drawn inside can scurry up and find a nice spot third or fourth. Expect this to be the case tomorrow, and from there it’ll just be a case of zigging and zagging as he is the strongest dog in this race. He is capable of going under 24 seconds, which will find him on top of the podium.
Next Best
Race 12 –
Form: 521573 | Career: 40: 6-6-10 | Trainer: Lindsay McCarthy
Best Value: Saron (Race 3)
Race favourite White Like Snow is well under the odds, which opens up value across the race. Saron hasn’t lit the world on fire since returning from a six-week break, but he gets his chance at a good price. Both his runs in this preparation he has bounced from the stripes, where he has been restricted for room in the early stages. Saron has always shown a tendency to favour middle-to-wide draws, as he enjoys getting to the centre of the track down the back. Jumping from box five, there’s a lack of speed outside him and little pressure inside him other than Loveless and White Like Snow, who isn’t jumping well now but has in the past. Saron has proven he can run in the 23.60s range, and given a clean run he can do so again. That time will be good enough to win this race.
Best Value
Race 3 –
Form: 541575 | Career: 31: 9-3-3 | Trainer: Mark Wilcox