Superstar sprinter Ferdinand Boy can reclaim the mantle of Victorian greyhound racing’s country cups king with victory in Wednesday night’s $70,335 Group 2 Macey’s Bistro Warrnambool Cup Final (450m).
The David Geall-trained Ferdinand Boy, who is chasing his fourth Victorian country cup victory, has the advantage of box one, a draw he has had on five occasions for three wins.
Click HERE for TAB’s latest Warrnambool Cup Final market
While Ferdinand Boy is clearly the best-credentialled greyhound in the Warrnambool Cup Final, sentimental hopes lie with Mepunga Mustang.
Owned by legendary local breeder Barry Smith, Mepunga Mustang was the fastest of the eight heat winners last Thursday night in a flying 24.93sec.
KEY TIMES
6:15pm First race
7:19pm Cup Night Match Race (Race 4) Hennessey v Substantial ?
7:38pm WGRC Members Cup Final (Race 5; first leg of Quaddie)
7:58pm Stan Lake Memorial (Race 6)
8:38pm G2 Warrnambool Cup Final (Race 8)
10:07pm Last race (Race 12)
Another notable finalist is Compliance, winner of the Group 2 Ballarat Cup just three weeks ago.
Other feature races on Warrnambool Cup night include a $10,000 winner-take-all Cup Night Match Race (450m) between Group winners Hennessey (Provincial Plate) and Substantial (Shepparton Cup), and the $7,335 Stan Lake Memorial featuring popular chaser McCooly’s Lad.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
– Watch every race live and free on Sky Racing.
– Live broadcast from the track with Troy Harley, James van de Maat and Ethan Christian on The Watchdog app and at watchdog.grv.org.au.
– Behind the scenes Twitter coverage with ‘@WatchDogRacing’.
– Regular updates with Trent Langskaill on RSN Racing and Sport (927 AM).
The Warrnambool Cup is the fourth and final leg of GRV’s 2022 Western Festival of Racing, which also included the Horsham Cup (won by Typhoon Sammy), Ballarat Cup (Compliance) and Geelong Gold Cup (Yozo Bale), during which more than $700,000 in prize money was distributed.
POINTS OF INTEREST
HISTORY BOOKS
It is believed the Cup was conducted on the old Warrnambool track as far back as 1961.CUPS KING
Favourite Ferdinand Boy is chasing a fourth country cup title after victories at Shepparton, Ballarat and Healesville last year, where he earned a $50,000 GRV bonus for winning three country cups in a calendar year. This will be Ferdinand Boy’s eighth appearance in a Group 2 country cup final.LOCAL LEGEND
There are no locally-trained finalists but hometown support will be with legendary GRV Hall of Fame breeder Barry Smith (Mepunga East), who owns Mepunga Mustang. The last local Cup winner was Honcho Classic, trained by Kevin Mugavin, in 1999.MULTIPLE FINALISTS
David Geall is the only trainer with multiple finalists, qualifying Ferdinand Boy and Fernando Mick.FIRST TIMERS
Astro Boy and Jerwood Bale are making their first appearance in a group event.GIRLS AND BOYS
Female trainers prepare five of the eight finalists – Jessica Sharp (Astro Boy), Rebecca Gibbons (Jerwood Bale), Ashlee Terry (Fearless Rory), Karen Pitt (Compliance) and Brooke Ennis (Old News). Female sprinters have won three of the last four Warrnambool Cups, but this year’s final will be an all-male affair.GEELONG DOMINANCE
For the second year running, seven of the eight Warrnambool Cup finalists are trained in the Geelong region, with Ballarat Cup winner Compliance, trained by primary school teacher Karen Pitt at Devon Meadows, the odd one out.
Group 2 WARRNAMBOOL CUP FINAL (450m)
Warrnambool Race 8, Wednesday 8:38pm
First prize $47,000
1 FERDINAND BOY (David Geall, Lara VIC) ?
2 ASTRO BOY (Jessica Sharp, Avalon VIC)
3 JERWOOD BALE (Rebecca Gibbons, Avalon VIC)
4 FEARLESS RORY (Ashlee Terry, Lara VIC)
5 FERNANDO MICK (David Geall, Lara VIC)
6 COMPLIANCE (Karen Pitt, Pearcedale VIC)
7 OLD NEWS (Brooke Ennis, Lara VIC)
8 MEPUNGA MUSTANG (Jeff Britton, Anakie VIC)
Reserves
9 NIKOLI BALE SCRATCHED
10 MOBILE LEGEND SCRATCHED
WARRNAMBOOL CUP HEAT WINNERS
Thursday 28 April
(fastest to slowest)
24.93sec Mepunga Mustang ?
24.98sec Ferdinand Boy
25.00sec Fernando Mick
25.02sec Fearless Rory
25.03sec Compliance
25.03sec Jerwood Bale
25.18sec Astro Boy
25.25sec Old News
RECENT WARRNAMBOOL CUP WINNERS
2012 Dyna Bert (Andrea Dailly, Anakie VIC)
2013 Ronan Izmir (Jason Thompson, Pearcedale VIC)
2014 Black Magic Opal (Jason Thompson, Pearcedale VIC)
2015 Ronray Spirit (Terrence Reid, Yuroke VIC)
2016 Zambora Brockie (Anthony Azzopardi, Rowsley VIC)
2017 Leo’s Gift (Robert Britton, Lara VIC)
2018 Striker Light (Brett Bravo, Lovely Banks VIC)
2019 Dyna Patty (Andrea Dailly, Anakie VIC)
2020 Zambora Smokey (Jason Thompson, Pearcedale VIC)
2021 Qwara Bale (Andrea Dailly, Anakie VIC) ?
One of Australia’s leading greyhound racing journalists since 2000 with the Greyhound Recorder and now with Greyhound Racing Victoria. Part-owner 2013 Group 1 Paws Of Thunder winner Sheikha. (The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of GRV)
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