For greyhound purists the cream of the crop was on show at The Meadows last Saturday and they put on a show. The night’s average winning time of 29.81 would have to be one of the fastest meetings seen there – fast dogs strutting their stuff in the ultimate conditions of mildness without a breath of wind.
Visually we were in awe of the performances but the data behind them provides context and arms us ahead of Week 2 of the Australian Cup Carnival.
Dominating a hand-picked field on debut at the level is some feat. He didn’t explode from the boxes but his acceleration shortly after was absolutely breathtaking.
His 20m-50m section was the fastest of the night and his 50m-100m was clearly the best. At 300m he set 16.69, the rest of the leaders on the card at the same point of the race averaged 16.90 – that’s a significant gap on a card full of jets.
He’s the dominant favourite in Semi-Final 4, and so he should be.
WATCH: Explicit (6) wins the Group 1 Sportsbet Temlee.
We know he can begin like a rocket and although it didn’t look like it on Saturday, he did. His time to 20m was 2.09 which is sharp at The Meadows, the average in his race was 2.10, Temlee average was 2.15 and average for the meeting 2.17. He was baulked for momentum after that which explained his moderate overall time.
And the story to 50m only enhanced the above, his time was 3.83 (0.02 slower than Explicit), race average 3.86, Temlee average 3.93 and meeting average 3.95. He’s waiting to explode.
Despite box 5 in Semi-Final 2 he looks pretty well placed with only moderate early speed on his inside.
WATCH: Pass The Buck (6) wins his Australian Cup heat.
I’ll never tell team Dailly what to do, but Ethanol Volume looks like a future staying powerhouse. Although he finished 5th and four lengths behind Ike Bale, his run home was only bettered by Hector Fawley and his last 100m only bettered by Stomping.
He’s a baby, he’s not 2-years-old until mid-March. He heads to Warrnambool over 450m in Race 6 tonight.
WATCH: Ethanol Volume (5) runs 5th to Ike Bale.
His first race this year and produced an enormous performance. His average speed over 730m was the same as the meeting average over 525m. He clocked 63.5kph at the 500m mark – a belting of Ethanol Volume’s top speed at the same point of 60.3kph, which was the best of the sprinters.
His first 50m was horrible – a time of 4.27 (meeting average 3.95) after walking out of the boxes. With no Valpolicella in the mix the King is a major contender in the Fanta Bale and should win Heat 2.
WATCH: Palawa King (4) runs third to Valpolicella in the Group 1 Sportsbet Zoom Top.
A dog who isn’t even a part of the Australian Cup series, but produced something special and set the tone for the night. He’s looked allergic to beginning well until Saturday. He got it right and put on a clinic.
To 300m he matched Umberto as the 3rd fastest of the night and to 500m was the fastest. The Launching Pad is his next logical target and he will be an almighty force.
WATCH: Canya All Class (1) with the Grade 5 Final.
WATCH: Jason Bonnington, Corey Smith and Mitch Ebeyer preview Week 2 of the Sportsbet Australian Cup Carnival at The Meadows.
Race Data is now available for tracks with the Isolynx system installed in Victoria. It provides in depth information of a race’s narrative and is sure to be an invaluable tool for punters and participants. Click here for the most recent data at Sandown Park, The Meadows and Traralgon.
Jason Adams has been involved in greyhound racing for 10 years. He spent almost all of that time at Sandown Park before recently transitioning to GRV. He’s also a part of the Sky Racing team and regular contributor on RSN. Part-owner of promising racehorse Keshi Boom.
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