Dundee Rebel claims 2023 Group 2 Flying Amy Classic in upset win
Dundee Rebel stormed home past more fancied rivals, crushing reputations and squashing all the hype around the race favourites, to take out the 2023 Group 2 Flying Amy Classic final on Thursday night.
Coming into the $150,000 to-the-winner race at outsider greyhound odds of +2000 with online bookmakers, Dundee Rebel had been relegated from greyhound punters minds as a genuine winning hope behind high profile greyhounds like Victa Damian, Zipping Remus, Alpha Zulu and Umberto.
Even Magistrate had been the subject of a betting plunge on the day of the final, being backed in from as much as +2000 in to +750 on greyhound betting apps, before drifting out to +1000.
The Flying Amy Classic heats were dominated by the South Australian Rasmussen family, who trained the three littermates to make the final, in Victa Damian, Victa Marli, and Victa Alby.
Heading into the Queensland Winter Carnival feature race final all the talk surrounded the two favourites, Alpha Zulu +220 and Victa Damian at +210.
Alpha Zulu trained by Jason Thompson had been triumphant in six of his eight starts and was seen as the main threat to Group 1 National Derby (520m) champion Victa Damian.
Former Victorian greyhound Dundee Rebel had chased hard to finish on the heels of quickest heat winner Magistrate (29.82) and be the only non-winner to qualify for the $150,000 to-the-winner final, as the second fastest qualifier in 29.89.
When all the greyhound betting was done and the lids flew, Umberto and Magistrate were both quick to begin and assumed the early lead, while Dundee Rebel and Victa Marli slotted in behind the leaders.
While the Jason Thompson-trained Umberto (+340) took over the lead down the back straight and in the turn for home, Dundee Rebel fought off the challenges of Magistrate, to come after Umberto in the home straight.
Dundee Rebel not only caught Umberto, but was pulling away late, going on to win by 0.75 lengths over Umberto in 30.10, with Magistrate a further 1.5 lengths away in third.
The win is sure to shock, not only due to the long odds of the winner, but also due to it denying both favourites a spot on the podium.
2023 Group 2 Flying Amy Classic (Albion Park, 520m) – Dundee Rebel (30.10) T: Rusty Dillon
Dundee Rebel (Feral Frank x Dundee Calypso) was a 2023 Launching Pad finalist at Sandown, where he won both his heat and semi-final prior to being unplaced in the final.
The greyhound, who was trained in Victoria by breeder and owner Geoff Scott-Smith, is a litter brother to 2023 Group 1 Harrison Dawson placed Dundee Smokey, and is now trained in Queensland by Rusty Dillon.
The Group 2 victory is the eighth for Dundee Rebel from 31 career starts and with his ability to compete fiercely in heats, and stamping his way into finals, he is sure to be a chaser to watch in the future.
Dundee Rebel has now won $199,360 for connections.
2023 Group 2 Flying Amy Classic
2023 Flying Amy Classic ResultsAlbion Park520mGroup 2$150,000 to-the-winnerThursday June 8 202330.10
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|
| 1st |
6 Dundee Rebel
T: Rusty Dillon30.10 – $40,000
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| 2nd |
1 Umberto
T: Jason Thompson30.160.75 lengths $11,335
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| 3rd |
7 Magistrate
T: Greg Stella30.262.25 lengths $5,665
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| 4th |
8 Victa Marli
T: Tony Rasmussen30.282.5 lengths
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| 5th |
2 Victa Damian
T: Lisa Rasmussen30.313 lengths
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| 6th |
5 Alpha Zulu
T: Jason Thompson30.566.5 lengths
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| 7th |
4 Zipping Remus
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| 8th |
3 Victa Alby
T: Tony Rasmussen30.8811 lengths
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