Star sprinters Do It, Ferdinand Boy and Aussie Secret head a strong Victorian ‘charge’ in the Group 1 Ladbrokes Hobart Thousand heats (461m) on Thursday night.
G1 Adelaide Cup winner Do It – trained by Jeff Britton – is engaged in Heat 3 (R5 B6) at 9.04pm. He’s at the prohibitive odds of $1.35 on TAB’s fixed odds market.
A winner of 14 races (with 15 seconds and 5 thirds) from 48 starts, Do It was third to superstar Aston Rupee in last month’s G1 Topgun.
Champion sprinter Do It looks a major contender for ultimate Hobart Thousand honours.
Triple G2 winner Ferdinand Boy – prepared by man of the moment David Geall – contests Heat 6 (R8 B4) at 10.10pm.
The G2 Shepparton Cup, G2 Ballarat Cup and G2 Healesville Cup hero is quoted as $1.95F. He was runner-up in the G3 Devonport Cup on November 26 prior to an unlucky sixth in last week’s Hobart Thousand Prelude.
Revered for his explosive speed once he ‘hits the ground’, Ferdinand Boy has notched 32 wins (with 12 seconds and three thirds) from 58 starts. He also holds Shepparton’s 450m track record (24.75sec).
Recent G1 Melbourne Cup finalist Aussie Secret – trained by Jason Thompson – lines up in Heat 4 (R6 B1) at 9.25pm. He’s virtually unbackable as $1.22F.
A G1 Silver Chief finalist and winner of the Pink Diamond Short Course, Aussie Secret has registered 31 wins (with nine seconds and seven thirds) from 61 starts.
Aussie Secret ($4.50) heads the Hobart Thousand (All In) market from Do It ($5) and Ferdinand Boy ($7).
Star speedster Aussie Secret is in the all-powerful Jason Thompson kennel.
Our ‘light brigade’ also includes speedsters the ilk of Jepara, Kinson Bale, Fernando Mick and Blackpool Flash.
Prepared by Angela Langton, Jepara – a finalist in the G1 Melbourne Cup and G1 Silver Chief – contests Heat 2 (R4 B8) at 8.40pm and is $1.60F.
Meanwhile, Kinson Bale (Samantha Grenfell), Fernando Mick (David Geall) and Blackpool Flash (Patrick Ryan, a local trainer who is deputising for Renee Kenyon) are engaged in Heat 5 (R7) at 9.49pm.
Kinson Bale (B1) – third in the G1 Melbourne Cup – is $1.95F ahead of Blackpool Flash (B7) – a winner of 29 from 58 – at $3.20 and Fernando Mick (B2) – second G1 Maturity Classic – at $3.80.
Will the Victorians be granted a ‘Thousand’ wishes? Let’s just say, it’s a ‘healthy’ contingent that has descended upon the Apple Isle.
VICTORIAN CONTENDERS
8.40pm Jepara (Heat 2, Race 4, Box 8)
9.04pm Do It (Heat 3, Race 5, Box 6)
9.25pm Aussie Secret (Heat 4, Race 6, Box 1)
9.49pm Kinson Bale (Heat 5, Race 7, Box 1); Fernando Mick (Box 2); Blackpool Flash (Box 7)
10.10pm Ferdinand Boy (Heat 6, Race 8, Box 4)
$4.50 Aussie Secret
$5 Do It
$7 Ferdinand Boy, Sacred Stance, Superior Wallis
Peter Quilty has more than three decades of experience as assistant editor of Victorian Greyhound Weekly. He was editor of GRV monthly magazine The Adviser (2001-09) and owner/publisher of Australian Greyhound Monthly. He also served on the selection panel for the inaugural GRV ‘Hall of Fame’ inductees and for several years was an adjudicator on the Victorian GOTY. He’s also published greyhound racing yearbooks and wrote the ‘Bold Trease’ video script.
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