Mepunga Tully was faultless on Saturday night at The Meadows in a semi-final of the Australian Cup, clocking the fastest first split and overall time out of the Australian Cup qualifiers.

As James Van de Maat called it, “They won’t catch Mepunga Tully, once she leads, she wins.” Even with Flying Zulu hot on her tail.

But greyhound form expert turned Sky Racing presenter Nathan Rooney raised concerns about Mepunga Tully’s ability to perform second up on a track.

“I’ll be jumping out of trees to back her after this series when she goes somewhere else.”  Rooney said post-race on Sky Racing.

It’s interesting to note, Mepunga Tully has been the fastest qualifier throughout the two weeks of the Sportsbet Australian Cup series posting a slick 29.58 second heat win from box seven and then backing up from the same box in the semi-final in a time of 29.77 seconds.

“Her form hasn’t been bad when she backs up second or third week, but the times have indicated that it’s not quiet at her best.”

“I don’t think there is too much between her two runs in the series so far, the tracks most probably not as fast after that little bit of a shower and the colder conditions.”

“I just think she is a greyhound that the more she can move around, the more we can see her explode out of the boxes.”

Mepunga Tully (7) wins her Australian Cup heat from box 7 in a time of 29.58. 

Mepunga Tully (7) wins her Australian Cup semi-final from box 7 in a time of 29.77. 

Trainer Jeff Britton is over the moon with Mepunga Tully’s performance through the Australian Cup series so far and feels as though he is heading into the Group 1 final on Saturday night with a genuine chance – not just hoping for luck.

“In race series, it’s a lot to expect greyhounds to go equal or better than their qualifying performances,” Britton said.

“The context of the race is everything. Generally, the heats or semis are that bit weaker than the finals so the races can’t necessarily be run and won the same way.”

After victories in the Australian Cup series from box seven, Mepunga Tully has drawn box four in the final.

“The box draw seems okay,” Britton said.

“We didn’t want a mad crasher on her outside and it looks like the dogs in the field really hold their lines.”

“She will have to do it all right on the night, but I feel like we are heading into the Australian Cup with a genuine chance.”

I suggest beers on Nathan if Mepunga Tully wins and runs faster than 29.58 seconds on Saturday night.

Can’t make it on course this Saturday night for the three Group 1’s at The Meadows? No need to worry, the A team on Sky Racing have you covered. Join Marc Ohlmus, Nathan Rooney and Jason Adams from 6.30pm on Sky Racing Active and the Watchdog App for wall-to-wall coverage of Australian Cup night.