The prestigious Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Collar is regarded as the holy grail of New Zealand greyhound racing. Eight supremely fit canine staying athletes will return to the Manukau Stadium on June 10 to contest the $88,000 decider over the gruelling 779m distance.
Pictured: Last year’s Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Collar winner Ring The Bell is returning to defend his title
Firstly they must earn the right to contest the Group 1 final with their task commencing at the Auckland headquarters this Sunday afternoon where two heats will sort out who will return for the tough, stamina sapping shootout.
One of those stayers will fleetingly receive the opportunity to wear the solid silver collar which was donated to the Auckland GRC by Prince Phillip following the 1970 royal tour of New Zealand. Check out the May edition of the On Track magazine for the complete history behind the great race.
Here’s a look at the 20 heat contenders, with their respective TAB Futures Win (option 1978) & Top 3 (option 1979) quotes
Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Collar – heat 1, race 9
1 Ring The Bell $15 & $3.60: He was real potent when winning his heat, then destroying his rivals in last year’s Silver Collar final. Sure time has marched on and he has endured some issues since then. Disco (kennel name) indicated he is back on track during his recent Wanganui Distance series. He trialled nicely at Addington on Monday and he has drawn perfectly for his racing style here.
2 Tranquil Blossom $16 & $4: She was a Hatrick Group 1 755m winner before she went onto to contest last year’s Silver Collar final (sixth). She indicated she’s potentially on track to return for another lick at the Collar after having some problems over the intervening period. She boldly won over 645m two races ago which she followed up with her last start 660m third.
3 Electric Lotto $51 & $12: She ran fourth in her heat in the last Silver Collar edition, then she delivered a brave effort when also finishing fourth in the final. In January she stylishly won a NZRS Distance final over 747m at the Cambridge Raceway following which she had a change of kennel. She has recently resumed from a spell, having had two unplaced runs back in.
4 Cristiane Cyborg $5 & $1.60: This is her ‘Everest’ with this girl making her much anticipated Manukau 779m debut outing after having been nicely placed by her conditioner in the build up for this assignment. Her lead in form has been terrific and potentially she is poised to join her mother Nina’s Girl, who strongly won the 2011 edition of the Silver Collar.
5 Tullabung Googar $81 & $18: This bloke does save his best efforts for this track where he is generally sighted finishing strongly in his 527m races. His lack of staying experience is the major concern for him with him having contested just the one race over the longer trips which was back in February when he finished a distant third over 603m.
6 Translator $10 & $2.50: Her mentors has been steadily building her up for this assignment as seen by their perfect placement of her when adopted catch me if you can racing tactics over the Addington 732m trip in her last outing. Her rivals couldn’t get near her when she scampered away for her 43.77s win. That followed a pair of strong finishing 645m wins at the same venue.
7 Bigtime Welldone $61 & $14: This fella pugged on from the rear group to finish fifth in both the heat and the final of the recent Wanganui Distance series at Group 1 level over 755m. His only staying outing since then was his sixth place finish over 645m behind race rival here Tranquil Blossom. He was recent Hatrick C1 520m winner.
8 Vicki Keeping $15 & $4: Her last start assignment saw her gamely chasing after the freewheeling Translator which saw her winding up 2.5 lengths behind her. Prior to that she contested the 755m Wanganui Distance final. She was a regular competitor on the Sydney based Wentworth Park circuit over their 720m distance. Her litter brother Simon Keeping was a recent Group 1 720m winner at that venue.
Reserves
9 Finkle Foot Hero $101 & $21: His only staying placing was in a C0D 603m event where he finished third. He’ll face an enormous task if he gains a race start here. In other words his current Maiden staying status won’t change.
10 Gray Bale $81 & $18: He occupied the rear group throughout over 603m last Sunday when he made his track debut outing. His prior Hatrick 645m race saw him running on late for a distant third. He looks safely held if he’s racing here.
Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Collar heat 1 contenders includes (from left): Tranquil Blossom; Cristiane Cyborg; Translator
Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Collar – heat 2, race 10
1 Argus Filch $31 & $6: He deservedly nailed his first staying victory when he prevailed over 645m at Hatrick in 38.13s last week when leading throughout. He had delivered a consistent series of previous 645m, 650m and 660m races. He’s likely to jump onto the pace here, therefore it will be a question of can he see out this 779m distance?
2 Don’t Knocka Gee $16 & $4: Wow, what a statement she made when she crushed her rivals by a 12.5 length margin when clocking a tidy 38.69s over 660m in her first career staying attempt. She then didn’t receive any favours in her next up 645m outing. Again the question that remains to be answered here is – can she run out the 779m trip?
3 Nitehawk Rose $15 & $3.60: For the last twelve months this girl has had just the one target set for her – this series. She has been good, really good in her stepping stones leading into this weekend. Ultra consistent races has been delivered by her over the 755m and 660m distances. She has recently trialled on this track and she is expected to relish racing over this extreme 779m trip.
4 Pirate’s Curse $26 & $4.50: This bloke adds the intrigue to this field. His owners say that he’ll run all day and all night. They been patiently waiting for this task. He was sighted unwinding strongly during the run home in his last 732m race when he was impeded at a crucial stage which noticeably halted the momentum he was building when he finished third. He has won New South Wales staying events and it will be interesting to see how strongly he finds the line over 779m here.
5 Vince Fawn $61 & $14: He hasn’t added to his three Australian staying wins since he crossed the Tasman with his best efforts being his recent 603m and 645m thirds. He was sighted finishing stoutly in both of those races. He’s another where a question mark hovers over him with regards to this extreme trip.
6 Dusty Gambler $1.70 & $1.20: Geez, you can’t do anything more than win races and this guy has done precisely that ever since he made his way across the Tasman. Six races for six wins over the following distances starting with 650m, then 747m (Group 2), onto a pair of 755m races (Group 1), followed by a potent 527m effort which he backed up by a professional 603m win last Sunday. You can’t fault that form line going into this 779m event.
7 Trip To Eden $31 & $6: He’s a Group race Australian winning stayer who set this track alight when arriving here. After delivering some powerful 527m efforts here he went onto to contest a Cambridge Group 2 747m event where, after leading early, he peaked on his gallop to ultimately finish seven lengths astern of race rival here Dusty Gambler. He’s had a couple of issues since then however he has rebuilt his race fitness with a couple of recent 527m races around here.
8 Mija Sydney $31 & $6: Ump, this bloke is a real head scratcher of a chaser to follow. There’s no doubting his ability, in fact he has flashes of brilliance. On the other paw he has been known to sulk if he doesn’t get his own way and just circulate around. A while ago he dashed home to easily win over 660m (39s), then two races ago he finished a close up second to the proven stayer Tranquil Blossom. What will he do on Sunday – we’ll have to wait and watch!
Reserves
9 My Red Hero $81 & $18: He’ll be a real hero if he advancers past this stage if securing a race start here. His only staying placing came in his distant 603m second in a C0D event. He then ran last in a Cambridge 650m race. That says look elsewhere here.
10 Wee Meredith $101 & $21: She pressed on late, but without holding any winning claims, for her distant last start Hatrick 645m fourth. Her only other staying attempt came early in her career where again she finished as a well beaten Cambridge 650m fourth.
Duke Of Edinburgh Silver Collar heat 2 contenders includes (from left): Nitehawk Rose; Dusty Gambler; Trip To Eden
By Peter Fenemor
