Two New Zealand based stayers have been issued with invitations to be considered for final field inclusion for the Topgun Stayers at Group 2 level event on The Meadows track in Melbourne on 28 October.

Pictured: Thrilling Flo, who holds an invitation for possible final field consideration in Melbourne

The connections of proven stayers Thrilling Flo and Ring The Bell have until 2pm (NZT) Thursday, October 12 to either accept or decline their invitations to the A$75,000 to the winner 725m staying event.

If one or both accept they will be considered along with other the acceptors (18 invitations for the stayers has been issued) by a selection panel who will confirm the final field on Sunday, October 15. The box draw will be conducted live on the Sky Racing Catching Pen program on Tuesday October 17 (screened on Trackside 1 at 8am the following morning).

It is great recognition for New Zealand greyhound racing to have invitations extended across the Tasman. It follows on from the prized invitation that Bigtime Paddy now holds for a heat of the world’s richest greyhound race, the A$600,000 Melbourne Cup following his Waterloo Cup win last Sunday.

The Karen Walsh trained Thrilling Flo is a proven on the pace stayer having won seven of her ten career staying races (two minor placings). Her racing style would be ideal for The Meadows circuit. She was the holder of the Manawatu 660m track record (38.46s) prior to recently losing it by 0.01s to Ring The Bell.

Walsh is a proven and respected conditioner of stayers at The Meadows track. In 2012 she produced Thrilling Brat to run second to the champion Aussie stayer of the time Miata in the Zoom Top invitation over 725m at The Meadows. He returned two races later to comprehensively tear apart a Group 1 final (Super Stayers) over 725m at the same venue by a staggering 11.75 length margin.

Ray Adcock is doing a brilliant job in mentoring the potent stayer Ring The Bell. The stayer is well known on both sides of the Tasman having arrived in New Zealand as the 2016 Australian National Distance title holder. His outstanding Group race winning staying exploits in this country require no introduction, nor will he require any introduction to one of his homes tracks The Meadows.

It promises to be an awesome final field lining up regardless of any possible Kiwi influence for the October 28 Topgun Stayers event. The current Aussie staying headline act Fanta Bale will take her career stake earnings to over a million dollars if she is successful in this event.

  
Ring The Bell, who is the holder of an initial Topgun Stayers invitation in Melbourne; Thrilling Brat seen here delivering his potent 2012 Group 1 Super Stayers victor; Aussie staying star Fanta Bale who after winning The Meadows hosted Group 3 725m staying final last Saturday advanced her career earnings to A$933,365 (Aussie pics supplied by Clint Anderson, Blue Stream Pictures)

Pawnote: The Group 1 Topgun Sprinters (525m) will also be contested on the same evening. The race offers a winning A$150,000 stake, which makes the event the world’s richest invitation only greyhound race. The selection format for the 25 invitees for this race is exactly the same timeline for the stayers as mentioned above.

By Peter Fenemor