Victorian greyhound racing’s richest provincial greyhound race – the $107,000 Group 1 Gold 98.3 FM Group 1 Sale Cup – will take place on Boxing Day evening as part of the Gippsland Festival of Racing.
A star-studded field has been assembled following last Sunday’s heats, with the sport’s pin-up dog Houdini Boy setting the standard with a sensational victory in 36.78sec, just two lengths outside the 650 metres track record.
While Houdini Boy is a hot $2.20 favourite three days out from Saturday night’s final, punters will be heartened by the fact that only three favourites have won the race in the past decade.
Houdini Boy has an enormous fan base, largely because of his ability to come from seemingly hopeless positions to win, which has led to him being dubbed an escape artist.
Kelvyn Greenough’s superstar is chasing his first Group 1 win, but he’ll need to topple some fellow big names if he is to do so including Christo Bale ($4.20) and Last Hurrah ($12).
Meanwhile, omen punters may follow the fortunes of the classy Weblec Ace ($12), whose cousin Weblec Eagle won the Sale Cup last year.
Zack Monelli ($4.50) is the sole interstate greyhound to make this year’s final, and he is aiming to become the third West Australian to win the Sale Cup in the past eight years.
A total of five feature races will be run on the card, starting with a two-dog battle for a $10,000 winner’s prize between Run Like Jess and Blazing Cartier in the Cup Night Match Race (650m), which is Race 4 at 7.50pm.
The Sale Cup is the first of three group races tied into greyhound racing’s 2020/21 Gippsland Festival of Racing, along with the Warragul Cup (Jan 16) and Cranbourne Cup (Feb 6).
Racing fans can enjoy live and comprehensive coverage of Sale Cup night with Troy Harley, James Van de Maat and Molly Haines via GRV’s Facebook Page and The Watchdog App from 7.40pm on Boxing Day.
