Mister Twister takes home the honours in 2017 Richmond Riches

Mister Twister
with Josie Murray after his heat win. PIC: Greyhounds Facebook.

MISTER Twister will head towards the heats of the Peter Mosman Classic (520m) at next Saturday after scoring a big win in night's $100,000 Richmond Riches (535m).

The Jason Mackay-trained dog started as the odds on favourite off box one and didn't disappoint, finishing too strongly for leader Pick It Up (box four) to score in 30.66.

Second favourite Fast Times (box seven) grabbed second, two and three quarter lengths off the winner, with (box six) rounding out the trifecta back in third.

Owner Luke Murray, the manager of the Tiger Seven Syndicate, praised the training efforts of Mackay following the win.

“Jason is the best trainer in NSW – probably even Australia,” Murray told Australian Racing Greyhound.

“He had the dog spot on for the series – he had some trouble with his tonsils going back a few months ago, but Jason picked up on it, got them removed, and now the dog is going better than ever.”

Murray said he gave his charge a good chance going into the decider, but remained wary of exciting Queenslander Fast Times.

“We were quietly confident going into the race – the dog had been going well although we knew that 's dog was going to be very hard to beat.

“[Mister Twister] had the advantage of plenty of experience heading into the series and he really seems to have matured into a nice race dog.

“It was a massive thrill to win – it feels like a long time between when we purchased them at the auction and now, but with that being said [Mister Twister] has been racing now for close to a year and we have had a lot of fun with him.”

Mister Twister, who eligible for the series after he was purchased for $21,000 from the 2015 Richmond Riches Puppy Auction, has now won 12 of his 29 starts with 11 minor placings.

Murray said Mister Twister has always been special.

“Heading into the auction we knew he was one of the best bred lots for being out of Double Twist who was a .

“The dog himself looked outstanding – he was well rounded and was a very nice pup.

“There was definitely something about him.”

It was a fantastic night for the Tiger Seven Syndicate who also owned third place getter Kong, trained by Murray's mum Cheryl.

Murray said there should also be some exciting times ahead for the 39-kilogram heavyweight which was purchased for $15,000 from the auction.

“I was very pleased with Kong's run for third – I have a pretty good opinion of the big fella and I definitely think he has some x-factor about him.”

Both dogs now look like leading contenders for the Peter Mosman Classic, worth $75,000 to the winner, with heats kicking off on June 3.

Murray says he is hopeful both will line up in the series, open to pups whelped after December 1, 2014, although says the final decision will be left with each trainer.

“I will leave it up to the trainers – my mum and dad train Kong and of course Jason trains Mister Twister – but I would think they'd both be heading towards the Peter Mosman now.

“Once again they'll both have the advantage there of being two of the oldest dogs in the series and they both have the ability to mix it in a series like that.”