Dave Hobby’s trio poised for Group 2 WA Oaks triumph
Leading WA trainer Dave Hobby will have a fabulous chance of securing his first Group 2 WA Oaks victory next Saturday at Cannington after qualifying three botches for the final and drawing the three inside boxes in the final with all three greyhounds.
Hobby will be looking to win both the Cannington feature age and sex restricted races after winning the Group 2 WA Oaks with Sneaky Emoji on Saturday, May 18.
Chris Halse was the last trainer to manage the feat in 2019, winning with Our Seabrook in the WA Oaks, and Premium Share in the WA Derby.
Hobby claimed the opening heat of the 2024 Group 2 WA Oaks on Saturday night when Sunset Lasso won Heat 1 of the time-honoured race in 30.08.
Sunset Lasso, who began from box three in the heat, was always handy in the run, chasing early leader Sassy Snickers.
Struggling to get a clear run under the leader, Sunset Lasso was able to get clear of the leader until entering the home straight and then had to withstand a late finishing charge from Girls Like You.
On the line, Sunset Lasso beat Girls Like You by 0.75 lengths, with Go Seek Francene a further 0.75 lengths away in third place.
All three greyhounds qualified for next week's Group 2 final.
2024 Group 2 WA Oaks Heat 1 – Sunset Lasso (30.08) T: Dave Hobby
The win was just Sunset Lasso's second win in a 21-start career that has also netted seven placings.
The daughter of Hard Style Rico and Sunset Kodiak, who finished unplaced in the recent Listed Mandurah Oaks, has now won $24,537 in earnings.
Bred and owned by Clint Hobby, Sunset Lasso will be joined in next week's $60,000-to-the-winner final by litter sister and kennelmate Sunset Serengeti who won the second of the three WA Oaks heats.
Sunset Serengeti, the 2024 Listed Mandurah Oaks champion, had to work hard for the win after exiting box eight and landing in fourth place through the first corner behind early leader West On Miley.
The tenacious Miss Envy was collaring West On Miley as they were leaving the back straight, with Sunset Serengeti following three lengths behind.
Entering the home straight. Miss Envy had taken the lead under West On Miley, but with both greyhounds racing off the rail, Sunset Serengeti got all favours, and charged through on the inside to get up on the post and win by 0.25 lengths in 30.00.
Miss Envy finished second, and West On Miley held on for third, 0.75 lengths from the winner.
All three bitches qualified for next week's WA Oaks final.
2024 Group 2 WA Oaks Heat 2 – Sunset Serengeti (30.00) T: Dave Hobby
Sunset Serengeti has now had 28 race starts for 10 wins and eight placings, earning $81,521 for the Hobby family.
In addition to Sunset Serengeti's Mandurah Oaks win, the 27-kg red brindle bitch made the final of the 2024 Group 3 Perth Cup consolation, finishing unplaced.
Christine Robartson will race for the chance to win her second Group 2 WA Oaks, with an incredible 24 years between the two finals.
Robartson trained Racing Barbie to win the final heat of the 2024 WA Oaks and last won the feature age-restricted race for bitches at Cannington way back in 1990 with Zoila's Crown.
Robartson's husband, Dave, won the same race as a trainer in 1999 with Roxy Reason.
Beginning quickly from box five, Racing Barbie, who was only having her seventh start, was able to lead almost throughout to win in 30.02.
The final 50 metres of the race were enthralling as Shy Emoji, the Dave Hobby-trained litter sister to 2024 Group 2 WA Derby winner Sneaky Emoji, charged through along the inside and looked set for victory before Racing Barbie fought back to get the bob in on the line in a photo finish.
Sneaky Emoji officially finished second, 0.03 lengths behind the winner, to give Hobby his third 2024 WA Oaks finalist.
2024 Group 2 WA Oaks Heat 3 – Racing Barbie (30.02) T: Dave Hobby
Jodee Jennings owns Racing Barbie, a veteran of just seven race starts who is the daughter of Zack Monelli and Rekall Kelsos.
Those seven race starts have resulted in three wins and third place, with all but one of those runs at Cannington over 520 metres.
Sneaky Emoji, a 2024 Listed Mandurah Oaks finalist, has now had 26 starts for five wins and 11 placings, earning the Dave Hobby bred, owned, and trained black bitch $37,558 in prizemoney.
The box draw for the $60,000 to-the-winner Group 2 final, to be held on Saturday, May 25, was held trackside and has delivered Dave Hobby a windfall, claiming boxes one, two, and three for the feature final with his three chances.
Racing Barbie will have to overcome box seven if Robartson is to win her second WA Oaks, 24 years after the first.
Damien Crudeli will be the only other trainer with multiple WA Oaks finalists after qualifying both Go Seek Francene and West On Miley through third placed efforts.
The Crudeli family has featured in many of WA's best race finals but has never won the time-honoured Group 2 WA Oaks.
As the WA Oaks is only a Group 2 race, there are currently no greyhound betting markets for the final next Saturday.
2024 Group 2 WA Oaks Final
2024 WA Oaks Final Box Draw & Field Cannington 520m Group 2 $60,000 to-the-winner Saturday, May 25, 2024
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1 Sunset Lasso
T: Dave Hobby F: 3531 Career: 21: 2-4-3 Prizemoney: $24,537
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2 Sunset Serengeti
T: Dave Hobby F: 1141 Career: 28: 10-7-4 Prizemoney: $81,521
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3 Shy Emoji
T: Dave Hobby F: 2422 Career: 26: 5-6-4 Prizemoney: $37,558
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4 Miss Envy
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5 Girls Like You
T: Paul Kaltsis F: 4352 Career: 25: 5-4-3 Prizemoney: $19,867
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6 Go Seek Francene
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7 Racing Barbie
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8 West On Miley
T: Damien Crudeli F: 7283 Career: 24: 9-3-3 Prizemoney: $30,507
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9 Lady Sherwood
T: David Magistro F: 6413 Career: 14: 2-2-1 Prizemoney: $10,042
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10 Stylish In Black
T: Diane Carmody F: 5774 Career: 34: 4-7-0 Prizemoney: $17,046
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Odds correct at time of publication