Arguably Australia’s four best greyhound sprinters have made it through to Friday night’s $70,000 Group 2 Geelong Gold Cup at the Beckley Centre, to be run over the 520 metres distance for the first time.
Catch The Thief, Shina Shine, Simon Told Helen and Tiggerlong Tonk are the four biggest names striving for the $50,000 first prize. The magical quartet have dominated the sport in recent times, boasting numerous Group 1 and country cup wins while also breaking multiple track records.
The awesome foursome have amassed a combined 94 wins from 162 starts, equating to a winning strike rate of 58% despite all racing in elite company across their careers. Their collective earnings exceed $1.325 million.
Shima Shine, trained locally by Andrea Dailly, is aiming to become a third generation Geelong Gold Cup winner. His dam, Shima Song, won the race in 2016, while his grand sire Dyna Tron (Shima Song’s sire) won in 2011. Both were trained by Dailly.
The 2020 Geelong Gold Cup Final boasts a distinct local flavour, with five finalists trained in the Geelong area – Gladioli Bale, Shima Shine (Andrea Dailly, Anakie), Bobby The Brute, Sweet As Emm (Brendan Pursell, Lara) and Simon Told Helen (David Burnett, Little River).
Former Avalon trainer Correy Grenfell (Mount Wallace) also has two finalists.
Three other feature races will also be held at the Beckley Centre on Geelong Gold Cup night – the Geelong Derby (460m), Geelong Oaks (460m) and Cup Night Distance (680m) special event.
