One of the greyhound racing world’s most prestigious feature races – the Group 1 TAB Topgun (525m) – will be run at The Meadows on Saturday night, 7 November at 8.45pm as part of Victoria’s inaugural Metropolitan Festival of Racing.
Carrying prize money of $214,500 including $150,000 to the winner, the TAB Topgun is considered the W.S Cox Plate of greyhound racing with its rich history dating back to 1993, which saw famous a dead-heat between Golden Currency and Worth Backing.
The Topgun is unique in that the field is hand-selected by the Topgun Panel, and will be supported on the night by the $108,000 Topgun Stayers (725m), which carries a first prize of $75,000.
A sensational field has been assembled for the Topgun, with three superstars vying for favouritism – four-time Group 1 winner Simon Told Helen, dual track record holder Shima Shine and freakish WA sprinter Tommy Shelby, who is in the care of caretaker trainer Kelvyn Greenough.
Tommy Shelby, named after a lead character in popular Netflix series Peaky Blinders, has a huge fan base. His owners have donated a portion of his prize money to various charities throughout his career, and will donate 5 per cent of any stakes he earns during the month of November to Movember, which raises awareness about men’s health issues.
On the next line of betting is Gippsland cult hero Catch The Thief, whose trainer Matthew Clark worked as a catching pen attendant at the inaugural Topgun at Sandown Park when he was just 20 years of age.
Meanwhile, the Topgun Stayers also boasts a star-studded line-up including Tornado Tears and his younger full brother Here’s Tears. The duo are both trained by Robert Britton, who also has Blazing Cartier engaged in the race, while Robert’s brother Jeff Britton will rug reigning Victorian Stayer of the Year, True Detective.
The inaugural Metropolitan Festival of Racing kicked off on Monday at The Meadows with Last Hurrah snaring the Group 1 Hume Cup (600m) and Hard Style Rico winning the Group 3 RSN Silver Bullet (525m).
