The Meadows hosted five heats of the Group 1 Hume Cup (600m) on Saturday evening with one of the stories of the night being the performance of forgotten hero Blue Striker.

A multiple group finalist once considered among the fastest greyhounds in Australia, Blue Striker wound back the clock to score his first win in eight starts dating back to June in the impressive time of 34.43sec.

His time was only bettered by emerging star True Detective, who returned to the winner’s circle after a rare blemish to clock 34.20sec, and the classy Gwydion (34.31sec).

The Hume Cup final will be held on Monday night 4 November, which is Melbourne Cup eve.

Here’s how the heats panned out.

HEAT 1: EIGHT BALL (1) started an even-money favourite but he was outgunned by BLUE STRIKER (5), who turned back the clock to win at $12.80. Time: 34.43sec.

HEAT 2: SHE WILL BLOOM (5) and STEINBRENNER (6) dominated betting but KESSLER BALE (7) took control early in proceedings and scored a comfortable win. Time: 34.59sec.

HEAT 3: ZIPPING POTTER (2) came from the clouds to win a three-way thriller as hot favourite TAUWITCHERE (8) finishes out of the placings. Time: 34.57sec.

HEAT 4: TRUE DETECTIVE (5) timed his run to perfection, returning to the winner’s list to win in the fastest time of the night. Time: 34.20sec.

HEAT 5: GWYDION (4) used her smarts to drive up on the rail and defeat a high-quality field. Time: 34.31sec.

2019 GROUP 1 HUME CUP (600M)
Monday 4 November, The Meadows
First prize: $75,000

Finalists (alphabetical order): BLUE STRIKER (Peter Akathiotis, Reservoir); BOOM DOWN (Andrea Dailly, Anakie); CHIEF FERNANDO (Steven White, Buln Buln East); GWYDION (Steven White, Buln Buln East); KESSLER BALE (Andrea Dailly, Anakie); LEKTRA SPRING (Andrea Dailly, Anakie); TRUE DETECTIVE (Jeff Britton, Anakie); ZIPPING POTTER (Jason Magri, Kemps Creek)

Reserves
PERFECT MARSHALL (Janet Cottrell, Pearcedale VIC); ASH STAR (Marcus Lloyd, Anakie)