We venture over to the city of churches for what seems to be a very interesting group of races tonight in the Adelaide Cup heats.
The Series
The Adelaide Cup is a Group 1 race contested at Angle Park in South Australia. It is contested over two weeks- this weeks heats and next weeks final. The Cup is a $75,000 race that has drawn so many of Australia’s best greyhounds and the heats are definitely well spread in terms of talent. Angle Park is a very tricky track for dogs that have not seen it before because the boxes sit a fair way off the track, if you draw wide and lack early pace then you can really be caught out at the first turn. The locals have a huge advantage in terms of track knowledge however, for sheer talent- I think the interstate challengers are on top
Heat 1 (Race 3)
Hard to go past the form of Aston Dee Bee in box 8. He hasn’t seen the track and that is a a concern but he is very quick out and could lead this bunch from start to finish. The other Victorian Raw Ability is the main danger and was solid in defeat here last week. He has a very good trainer who knows how to get them up at the right time and I expect some improvement this week.
Aston Dee Bee to win
Heat 2 (Race 4)
Everything I wrote about Aston Dee Bee above can be said about his stable mate in this race Bewildering box 8 (except he can make a few mistakes at the start). There isn’t a faster dog in the country with clear running and that will be the only thing that beats him tonight. Not seeing the track is a concern, box manners is a slight concern but the fact that he has about 5 or 6 lengths of raw speed on this bunch is making it hard for me to tip against him. The dog in box 7 is a nice dog and a recent group winner at this track that has serious claims and the locals have a pretty smart one in box 2 that could jump on the bunny and pinch it if Bewildering gets lost in traffic but I am with the recent Speedstar winner.
Bewildering to win
Heat 3 (Race 5)
Do you go with your heart, or go with your head? My heart tells me that Lightning Frank is a very good chance in this race but my head is telling me that Zara’s Entity is an absolute flying machine that is in form at the moment and in form dogs are very hard to beat. For me, there are three main hopes in this race-
- Zara’s Entity who trialed amazing here last week and is scorching the ground at the moment. When dogs are in this type of form then it silly to bet against them
- Aston Dinnigan is super early and can run the hands off the clock. If she leads, she will give them something to seriously chase
- Lightning Frank (disclaimer I am an owner) is coming back from a significant injury and is probably only just back to peak fitness. Missed the kick here last week but he is a dual group 1 winner and 6 time group finalist who can burn early, you don’t race in that amount of group finals if you don’t have a huge amount of talent. He has an empty box inside him and if he jumps out then there isn’t many faster dogs in the country than him.
Personally I wont be betting on the race but if I was forced to then I would be leaning to the in form Zara’s Entity to win
Heat 4 (Race 6)
Again I am going with the in form dog and track specialist Aqua Cheetah. This dog won this race last year and is fresh off a group win at Dapto in the Megastar. Striker Light has only been half going the past few weeks but she is the huge danger here. I think she has one of the most under rated trainers in Australia and he knows how to get them right for the big races. He expects a lot of improvement from last week and she will be all over the bunny early.
Aqua Cheetah to win (with a saving bet on striker light if odds permit)
Heat 5 (Race 7)
Worm Burner, Worm Burner, Worm Burner just back Worm Burner. Track tick, box tick, talent tick, odds (not so much) 🙁
Worm Burner to win
Heat 6 (Race 8)
Big class edge to the dogs in box 4 and 5 but drawn horribly. Ando’s Mac is last years Melbourne Cup winner and a serious group 1 dog who flew out last start here to hold out the super strong Cairnlea Kenny. The box draw is a slight concern for me but if Ando’s Mac can jump the lids like last week then I think he may be able to put enough dogs between him and Kenny to skip clear and win this. If the main contenders get caught in early traffic then the dogs in box 2 and 8 both have good claims.
Ando’s Mac to win
Good luck Punters
@chattleonard