Queensland hopes boosted by favourable Origin box draw
Queensland’s champion sprinter Jury was installed a $2.90 favourite to win the first UBET Origin Sprint at Albion Park on Thursday night, where Queensland and New South Wales’ best greyhounds will go head-to-head in a three-race series.
Excitement continues to build ahead of the inaugural series in Brisbane, with the box draw conducted by QRIC Stewards at the iconic Breakfast Creek Hotel, and live streamed across UBET and Racing Queensland.
Jury will jump from Box 3 in the UBET Sprint (520m), the same box which helped him win the UBET Nationals Sprint Final in Brisbane last year. Trainer Tony Brett said Jury had come through last week’s Winter Cup victory in good order.
“It’s going to be a fantastic race with two smart NSW sprinters drawn on the inside. This series has been the talk of the track recently. It’s going to be a great night at Albion Park,” he said.
Up-and-coming Queensland stayer Double Gee drew Box 2 in the 710m UBET Origin Distance (710m), while star NSW stayer Ebby Ripper drew Box 8.
In the potentially series-deciding one-vs-one match race, Queensland’s It’s Dyllan drew Box 3, with NSW speedster Two Times Twice in Box 1. When asked whether It’s Dyllan would have the speed to win the match race, trainer Peter Wilson said: “Of course!”
“He ran very good (in the Winter Cup) but this is a different concept with two greyhounds. I think (Two Times Twice) is a very good dog and will be very hard to beat, but we will be there trying our best,” he said.
UBET’s Gerard Daffy said bookmakers had been working overtime to get markets out for all three races early on Monday, with plenty of options for all types of punters.
“To win the series we have NSW at $1.65 and QLD at $2.25. In the coming days we will have a correct score for the series. So, keeping the Origin concept alive you’ll be able to back QLD or NSW to win 3-0 or 2-1,” he said.
“There has been huge interest in this. We’ve had the series betting open now for several weeks and I was staggered by the amount of interest in it. It’s going to get even hotter now.”
Australian Racing Greyhound will providefree greyhound ratings preview tips of the three promo races on Thursday for those interested in betting.