Dual Group 1 winner Raw Ability will make his long-awaited return to racing on Monday night in a heat of the Group 2 Shepparton Cup (450m).
Raw Ability re-injured his shoulder in a fall at Sandown in May, which saw the son of Barcia Bale and Bugatti Flyer spend close to three months away from the track.
“He has been ready to race for about two or three weeks, but I wanted to give him extra time to recover. We have really been babying him throughout this recovery,” trainer Anthony Azzopardi said.
Seven heats of the Shepparton Cup will kick off from 7.47pm on Monday and will see Raw Ability return in heat six (Race 8) and jump from box two.
“He is fit..we trailed him at Healesville, Bendigo and Shepparton in preparation for racing.”
Raw Ability has a race on his hands with greyhounds of note in every box.
CKH Painting Shepparton Cup heat six
1) Elevated (Harry Manolitsis) $4.80
2) Raw Ability (Anthony Azzopardi) $2.50
3) Brazilian Brae (Aaron Debattista) $31.00
4) Kouta Mayhem (Jason Sharp) $6.50
5) Up Hill Jill (David Geall) $3.30
6) Feikuai George (Xiao Cheng) $14.00
7) Alpha Lucky (Jeff Britton) $18.00
8) Cavatron (Paul Abela) $12.00
*TAB Fixed odds as of 10/8
“Up Hill Jill…well she is a champion,” Azzopardi said.
“Elevated is a very good female, really she is the fastest female in the race.”
“Kouta Mayhem and Alpha Lucky are two other good dogs and you can’t forget about Cavatron, who is flying at the moment.”
“It is a good race and Raw Ability won’t be able to make any mistakes.”
Raw Ability missed out on a rug in the 2017 Shepparton Cup when finishing fourth to kennelmate Annabelle’s Boy.
And although he didn’t win the Shepparton Cup, Raw Ability posted a win on Shepparton night when taking out the Ron Nestor Memorial (450m), running faster than the Cup itself in a time of 25.053sec.
The 2017 Shepparton Cup was taken out by the Brooke Ennis-trained Zinzan Brooke, who also went on to win the Group 3 Healesville Cup (350m) in a run of five consecutive victories.
