Vics bound for SA

Thursday, 01 Oct, 2020,
by Peter Quilty

Vics bound for SA

Catch The Thief is Victoria’s show stealer in the Group 1 Adelaide Cup series (515m) at Angle Park.

He gained exemption from tomorrow night’s heats after receiving automatic entry into the final – courtesy of his SA Match Race Series win.

Catch The Thief won the G2 WA Derby and G3 Warragul St Leger, was a finalist in the G1 Vic Peters Classic and G3 Cranbourne Classic, and runner-up in the G3 Speed Star.

He’s also won 18 races from 30 starts – including 12 of his past 17.

However, Matt Clark’s champ is backed up by a Victorian support crew that is anything but a ‘B grade’ cast – including group race winners Oakvale Beauty, Rajasthan and Taken.

Oakvale Beauty (Heat 6 – R7 B8 @ 9.19pm) won the G2 Laurels and was a finalist in the G1 Melbourne Cup, G1 Paws Of Thunder and G1 Temlee. She has also contested a G2 Horsham Cup and was runner-up in a G3 SA Oaks.

Rajasthan (Heat 7 – R8 B6 @ 9.40pm) is a former star stayer now in the twilight of his career. He has contested five G1s, including winning a Sandown Cup and finishing second in a Rookie Rebel.

Taken (B8) – also engaged in Heat 7 – won the G3 Cranbourne Classic and was a finalist in the G3 Warragul St Leger.

Meanwhile, Aston Silk (Heat 1 – R2 B1 @ 7.28pm) was runner-up in the G1 Sapphire Crown and a G1 National Futurity finalist. Also contesting Heat 1 are Slick Riot (B3) and Zipping Zarbo (B7).

Summer Sizzle (Warrnambool) winner Slick Riot is a younger half-brother of Victorian Greyhound of the Year Whiskey Riot – who won the G1 Melbourne Cup and G1 Temlee, and was runner-up in last year’s G1 Adelaide Cup – and his litter brother Fernando’s Riot, who won the G1 Australian Cup.

Zipping Zarbo is a provincial sprint queen with 16 wins from 29 starts – including the President’s Cup at Horsham.

And the strong Vic contingent also includes Kipling (Heat 6 – R7 B1 @9.19pm) who has won 20 races from 36 starts – including a 410m track record (22.84sec) at Horsham. He was also runner-up in the Listed Mount Gambier Cup.

Other Victorians contesting the heats are: Love And Thunder (Heat 3 – R4 B4 @ 8.10pm) and Mepunga Isla (Heat 4 – R5 B1 @ 8.34pm).

Peter Quilty

Peter Quilty has more than three decades of experience as assistant editor of Victorian Greyhound Weekly. He was editor of GRV monthly magazine The Adviser (2001-09) and owner/publisher of Australian Greyhound Monthly. He also served on the selection panel for the inaugural GRV ‘Hall of Fame’ inductees and for several years was an adjudicator on the Victorian GOTY. He’s also published greyhound racing yearbooks and wrote the ‘Bold Trease’ video script.