Fahey Launches Three-pronged Assault on Devonport Cup Final
VETERAN trainer Gary Fahey will have three chances to land his first victory in the Group Three Devonport Cup when the lids fly open for the $25,000-to-the-winner event on Tuesday afternoon.
The Tasmanian mentor prepares consistent campaigners Breaker's Tip, Bruny Venture and Rip And Tear which will contest the feature from boxes four, six and seven respectively.
To add to the remarkable feat, all three chasers are from the same litter.
The brothers, by Mogambo out of Dennes Point, each won their heats of the Devonport Cup over 452 metres last week, an achievement Fahey is unlikely to forget.
“It is certainly a big thrill to get three into the final,” he said. “I was expecting two of them [Breaker's Tip and Bruny Venture] to be a big chance of making it but, while the other dog [Rip And Tear] is quite a good dog, I thought he lacked a bit of class.”
Unfortunately, none of his trio could draw a decent box in the final, but Fahey remains optimistic of a good result.
“The draw is very disappointing, two of them would be much better suited to inside draws,” he said. “With that being said, the three of them are quite good beginners so, if one of them could lead, I think they would be pretty hard to beat.
“The whole litter have been very unlucky with box draws during their career. I suppose one good thing is that if you keep being drawn in those boxes then you learn how to handle them.”
The race is shaping up to be a cracker with Her Highness (box one), Señor Slamma (box eight) and Prescribe (box five) looming as the major threats.
Fahey rates Bruny Venture, a winner of 11 from 22, as his best chance.
“I don't think he has been any further back than second in his last 17 runs, he is a very consistent dog,” he explained.
“The way they are drawn I think he is my best chance. His brother, Rip And Tear, is drawn outside him and he uses a bit of the track and the dog drawn inside him, Prescribe, is a mad railer.
“He does look to be the one of my three that should get a clear run early.”
Fahey said there was little between Bruny Venture and Breaker's Tip, which recently made the final of the Group One Hobart Thousand.
“Breaker's Tip is a very honest dog and he is a very hard chaser, they all are.
“There is nothing between him and Bruny Venture. I said that going into the Gold Cup final and then they came out and dead-heated for second behind Hellyeah Bolt.”
Rip And Tear will start as the outsider of the field after his moderate 25.96 heat win last Tuesday, around four-tenths slower than his brothers which clocked 25.58 (Breaker's Tip) and 25.55 (Bruny Venture).
“He is very honest but he is about five or six lengths slower than the other dogs,” Fahey said. “What he lacks in overall ability he makes up for by being a very good beginner and he uses what he has got. A lot of the time he gets away with races because of those good habits.”
A win would be extra special for Fahey, who bred the litter with his brother, Greg.
“Greg and I have been in greyhounds together for more than 40 years, we have always done things together, we are a pretty close family.
“Greg and myself bred them and we own the whole litter except for Bruny Venture. I used to train their mother and we didn't get much racing out of her because she was always coming on season.
“Eventually Greg knew what I thought of her and offered her owners a fee [to buy her], plus they could have a pup out of the litter. They accepted that and Bruny Venture was the pup they selected.”
Win, lose or draw on Tuesday, it is still an outstanding achievement for Fahey, who has only six greyhounds in work, to have three litter brothers in the final of the race which he last contested more than 30 years ago.
“I have been in a couple [of Devonport Cup finals] but I have never won one. We had a runner back in 1983 and 1984, so it has been a while since we have had a finalist.
“It would be very exciting to win it, I am nearing the twilight of my racing career so to pull it off at this late stage would be a great thrill.”
The Group Three Devonport Cup is race eight on the card and will jump at 3:09pm AEDT.
To view our picks and betting preview of the final, click here.
Love to see gary win it ..
Love to see gary win it ..