Tim Zoo’s journey from underdog to Melbourne Cup contender
Tim Zoo, trained by the renowned Jason Thompson, has made a remarkable ascent in the 2023 Australian greyhound racing season and capped that rise with an impressive 2023 Group 1 Melbourne Cup heat win on Saturday night at Sandown.
Despite adverse weather conditions and long odds, Tim Zoo dominated the race and secured his place as a serious contender in the upcoming Group 1 final.
Big Energy set tongues wagging when he recorded a 28.91-second 2023 Melbourne Cup heat win, but the Group 1 Adelaide Cup runner-up and Group 2 Cranbourne Cup placegetter will face stiff opposition from Tim Zoo, who put together an impressive 29.07 performance.
Tim Zoo won the second-last Melbourne Cup heat by 10.46 lengths on a track that had noticeably suffered from the poor weather conditions.
Named after the world champion boxer Tim Tszyu, he surprised all but handler and co-owner Holly Thompson with the speed of the win, with greyhound bookmakers sending the talented youngster to the boxes on the sixth line of betting as a +850 chance.
From box six, the son of Aussie Infrared and Double Supreme speared straight to the front, running splits of 5.02 and 18.61 on the way to a dominant win.
2023 Group 1 Melbourne Cup Heat 7 – Tim Zoo (29.07) – T: Jason Thompson
Tim Zoo has now won eight races from 16 starts with a further four placings, including a runner-up finish in the 2023 Group 3 Great Chase final behind kennelmate Explicit.
The Thompson kennel had been having a very unlucky night on Saturday with Navarino, Rippin' Grace, Postman Pat, Rocket Riot, Alpha Zulu, and Flying Zulu failing to impress.
The night got worse for Thompson when Flying Zulu suffered a sprained hock in running after leading to the first corner as the -111.11 race favourite on greyhound betting apps, so Tim Zoo's out-of-the-box performance was a much-needed change of fortune.
“It's been one of those nights,” said Holly Thompson.
“He did everything right this week.
“He's a special dog now.
“It's a pinch-yourself moment.
“He was under the radar, but now he's made a mark.”
If able to secure next week's Group 1 final, Tim Zoo will make it a fifth Melbourne Cup for Thompson, who first won the big race with Light Of Fire back in 1994.
The kennel then claimed back-to-back victories with Got A Moment in 2012 and Black Magic Opal in 2013.
The last Melbourne Cup win for the Thompson family came through Aston Dee Bee in 2017, racing under Seona Thompson's guidance.
Tim Zoo has had a meteoric rise to top-level greyhound racing after posting the 10th-fastest maiden win in track history at Bendigo in late June, stopping the clock in 23.58.
At the time, AustralianRacingGreyhound.com foreshadowed Tim Zoo's ascension to elite greyhound racing at the time, saying, “Despite racing over just 425m, the 35kg black dog's most impressive section was his last 50m of the race, giving every indication that running out the 500m distances required for city-class racing will represent no obstacle.”
The talented youngster just ticked over his second birthday last month and has scope for more improvement to come — especially around the Sandown track, where he has had just four starts for two wins.
The box draw for the Melbourne Cup 2023 final was performed after the last of the eight heats, and Tim Zoo has drawn box seven for the $650,000-to-the-winner race — a box from which the lightly raced youngster has had just two starts for a win and a second at The Meadows and Bendigo, respectively.
Greyhound betting sites were quick to post Tim Zoo as the +320 second favourite behind Big Energy, who is a -125 chance.
The last greyhound to win the Melbourne Cup from box seven was Dyna Tron, who won the 2011 Melbourne Cup.
The 2011 race was notable as the Wheeler greyhound breeding dynasty had seven of the eight finalists, including the winner.
2023 Group 1 Melbourne Cup final field
2023 Melbourne Cup Box Draw & FieldSandown515mGroup 1$650,000 to-the-winnerSaturday, December 2, 2023
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1 Buddy Monelli
+450
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2 Fab's Vegetable
T: Tom. DaillyF: 1231Career: 53: 14-5-5Prizemoney: $99,125
+1400
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3 Mac's Damage
+2500
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4 Big Energy
-125
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5 Aussie Rocks
T: Geoff MitchellF: 1881Career: 36: 15-6-5Prizemoney: $117,935
+1300
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6 Idolize
+2000
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7 Tim Zoo
T: Jason ThompsonF: 1451Career: 16: 8-3-1Prizemoney: $72,375
+320
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8 Make No Promise
T: Paul BartoloF: 3111Career: 34: 15-6-7Prizemoney: $167,950
+2000
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| Reserves | |
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9 Dundee Rebel
T: Geoff Scott-SmithF: 3332Career: 50: 11-13-9Prizemoney: $239,275
+1400
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10 Navarino
T: Jason ThompsonF: 1432Career: 34: 10-7-8Prizemoney: $92,975
+800
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Odds correct at time of publication