The powerful stayer Ring The Bell has swept all before him in his adopted country New Zealand, having won 12 of his 14 staying races. He now returns to his country of birth to take on the best Australian stayers in what promises to be an epic encounter in Melbourne.
Pictured: Ring The Bell seen here winning the NZ Stayers Cup takes on Australia’s best in Melbourne on Saturday night (pic Dave Robbie)
Ring The Bell takes his place in a star studded field of stayers in the Sky Racing Topgun Stayers, which is an invitation only event at Group 2 level raced over 725m on the Melbourne based The Meadows track. The winning stake is a cool A$75,000.
As mentioned Ring The Bell has embarked on a winning spree since crossing the Tasman and going under the tutorage of Kiwi Hall of Fame conditioner Ray Adcock. He has won two races each Group 1 and Group 2 level. He has collected two staying (770m & 660m) track records along the way while also earning $104,512. There is no doubt that the New Zealand finish on lure system has revitalized his chasing attitude, as Adcock has previously advised, he’s a real tough dog to get off the lure.
Prior to arriving in New Zealand he had won the Australian National Distance (2016) title in Adelaide, then he finished second to his race rival on Saturday Burn One Down in last year’s edition of the Sky Racing Topgun Stayers.
Drawing trap three for Saturday’s feature has enhanced Ring The Bell’s ($5 – TAB Final Field, option 982) claim of finishing on the podium. He is a noted railer but perhaps more importantly he has drawn underneath his main opponents. He must push forward during the early rush for positions and secure the rails racing passage - there are no ifs, buts or maybes about that factor. If he does so, then yes its race on!
Disco (kennel name) arrived in Melbourne on Monday and is being look after by his former Victorian trainer Gerry O’Keeffe who advises us, “Disco arrived in tiptop condition; he’s a wonderfully relaxed traveller. We whistled him up our 250m uphill straight on Wednesday evening – it was just a breeze for the strong old bloke.
“He needs to be in the first three at the first corner with a sight of the loop arm lure if he is to get a podium finish. These are the best stayers from Victoria, West Australia, South Australia and New South Wales, plus also from New Zealand. There is no room for any mistakes here!
“With Ring The Bell’s appearance, these are the best long distance staying greyhounds in the world – it’s quite an honour for Disco to be invited to be part of it. I hope he does all of New Zealand proud. I can assure you, should Disco win, the Kiwi flag will be waving proudly.”
Ring The Bell seen here proudly wearing his Plasterboard Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Collar; here he is delivering his Plasterboard Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Collar victory (pic Trish Dunnel), and Disco is seen here delivering his searing Forbury Park 46.28s 770m track record (pic Luana Robbie)
Most eyes will be focused on the five trap because that’s where the crowd favourite Fanta Bale ($2.20) will leap from. Victory in this race will see her becoming the third chaser in Australian greyhound racing history to break through the million dollar stakes earning barrier. She will arrive at the 725m traps as the winner of A$964,835 and seeking her tenth Group race victory (she’s won six races at Group 1 level).
Her conditioner Robbie Britton is no stranger to Kiwi greyhound followers after having mentored the Canterbury chasers Clone Your Own and Above All to Group 1 success across the Ditch. Fanta Bale won the recent running of the Australian National Distance in Brisbane.
Britton said in an interview featured on the Greyhound Racing Victoria website, “She isn’t the fastest greyhound I’ve ever trained but she is what I call a one-pacer. She begins pretty well and is able to maintain that speed over whatever distance, which makes her very unique. She also has an enormous will to win.”
Obviously Burn One Down ($2.50) is also a potent stayer (A$507,559). He ran a bold one length second to Fanta Bale in the recent Aussie National Distance final. He also gave a dazzling display of chasing when powerfully winning his recent Speed Star (match race) event on Sandown Park (715m) and as mentioned he won the Sky Racing Topgun Stayers title here last year. He will be sighted wearing the green racing vest on Saturday.
Bogie Beckim ($14) has powerfully won his last two feature Angle Park (Adelaide) 731m assignments by a combined margin of 25 lengths. He will exit from trap four. To illustrate how representative this field is, is the presence of two West Australian stayers who occupy the inside two traps. Combined, the eight drawn runners for the Sky Racing Topgun Stayers have won a staggering $2,587,304 in stake earnings!
The box draw for the Sky Racing Topgun Stayers was conducted during last Saturday’s Meadows meeting; the marketing for the Sky Racing Topgun Stayers includes this banner promoting Fanta Bale’s quest to become a millionaire greyhound; here’s Fanta Bale seen storming to one of her Group 1 victories (pic Clint Anderson, Blue Stream photos)
The other feature event on the Meadows card is the Sky Racing Topgun Sprint (525m). The Group 1 event is the world’s richest invitation only race offering an A$150,000 winning stake. Obviously the race has also attracted an outstanding field. This race carries a bonus A$25,000 injection into the First4 pool, in which the NZ Tab is included
Pawnote: The Sky Racing Topgun Stayers is race 6 on The Meadows card (10.58pm NZT), while the Sky Racing Topgun Sprint is race 8 (11.40pm). Both races will be screened live on TAB Trackside 2, plus also on TAB Trackside Radio.
By Peter Fenemor
