The Shepparton Cup greyhound meet makes its return this Saturday, March 23 — not that the dashing dogs have been gone too long, that is.
Shepparton Greyhound Racing Club hosted almost 120 meetings in 2023 and heats for Saturday’s big race took place on Monday.
They don’t often come more lucrative than this, though, with Saturday’s 10th race offering a bumper $55,000 payout to the winner from a prize pool of $83,000.
Pearcedale trainer Jason Thompson lays claim to three entrants in the 450m dash, including the two favourites in Explicit (1) and Flying Zulu (8), who set remarkable times in this week’s heats.
Thompson boasts four previous cup winners and six other placings over a remarkable stretch of more than three decades, going back to his first win with Head Honcho in 1993.
Fellow trainers Tom Dailly (Star of Mine, 1999 and Knockabout Wok, 2002) and Michelle Mallia (Blackalls Boss, 2012) have previous success under their belts with finalists running this year.
Two-year-old Explicit, possessing a star-quality record of 13 wins and three second placings from 17 starts, is the $1.90 favourite.
Shepparton’s general manager Carl McGrath expressed his excitement.
“It’s a big year for the club; we have the cup this Saturday night and the biggest race in regional Victoria in June with the Pink Diamond,” McGrath said.
“That whole series is worth about $1 million, which is great for a little country club like us.
“We have a new outdoor area that people can use for functions where we can have about 150 people, which we'll be opening up for the first time this weekend.”
With the track’s record severely threatened during Monday’s heats, there is a wealth of quality to look for up and down the card, according to McGrath.
“(Jason Thompson) is probably the biggest trainer in Australia for quality dogs,” McGrath said.
“He’s been called the Bart Cummings of greyhound racing and that’s probably appropriate.
“This cup field is one of the strongest fields I’ve seen; it’s very even and the times are going to be phenomenal.
“The Tony McGrath Memorial (race eight) line-up could also be a cup field; it’s probably as strong as half the cup fields around the country.
“My cup pick is 8-1-6, but it's the best field I've seen in my years here.”
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