Greyhound racing nobility descends upon Gippsland this week when Tornado Tears pays a ‘royal visit’ to Sale.

The staying king will contest heat 1 of the Group 1 GoldFM Sale Cup (650m) on Friday night.

Trained at Lara by Robert Britton, Tornado Tears – winner of five G1 finals – had a familiarisation gallop on the circuit on Sunday and the distance monarch revealed he’s showing no signs of abdicating from his throne.

“He trialled post-to-post in 25.44sec, which is not highballing but, being a dyed-in-the-wool stayer, you know his last section is always going to be his best,” Britton said.

Leading into 2020, Tornado Tears will follow a similar group racing program to this year.

“At the end of the day, if he holds his form, we’ll keep racing him,” Britton said.

Tornado Tears has cryptorchidism (absence of testes) and is infertile, so logically there are no retirement plans.

“He’ll let us know when he’s had enough,” Britton added.

Tornado Tears has raced on 53 occasions for 31 wins, with prizemoney of $885,065. He currently sits seventh on Australia’s top stake earners list.

The 2019 GoldFM Sale Cup is part of the Gippsland Festival of Racing, and the $75,000-to-the-winner final will be decided on Boxing Day.