As we rip into 2025, the first majors of the year are the Temlee and Zoom Top which kick off the Australian Cup Carnival in a big way next Saturday at The Meadows.
There’s been 13 nominations for the Zoom Top (730m) and 106 for the Australian Cup heats (525m) where all sprinters will be considered for the Temlee.
They’re all run on Night 1. The top three from the eight Australian Cup heats will progress to four semi-finals the week after, with Temlee runners exempt into those semi-finals.
As always, selection of the fields will cause spot fires in the group chats with everyone of firm belief that their opinion is right and can’t be challenged! That’s the beauty of it.
For the Zoom Top, it’s traditionally easier to pick a field given the thinner depth of top level stayers compared to sprinters. There’s plenty around with different qualities, like Lanfranco, who was stunning in his last start at the track – he’s the fourth fastest greyhound ever over 730m, does that get him a gig? Then there’s the bombshell nomination of Unreal Speed – he hasn’t been seen since scratched from the Sandown Cup final last May, where he was the fastest qualifier.
The fields are put together by The Meadows with GRV Graders. I don’t envy pulling the trigger on those last couple of spots.
The conditions are broad, which as they state, is by design. The main factors of selection are:
- Career record
- Group and metropolitan racing performances
- Recent form
- Winning times
- Record at The Meadows
Temlee and Zoom Top fields will be announced on Sunday with the box draws to be conducted Monday afternoon – streamed live via the Watchdog App and The Meadows’ Facebook page. Click here for event conditions