In Brief
- Josh Wright seeks first Shane Yates Cup victory.
- Trainer prepares two strong chances in the feature.
- Stella Shadows to start favourite from box six.
St. Leonards trainer Josh Wright will be chasing his biggest win in Hobart when Pollinator Ken and Fisherman’s Wish line up in the final of the Shane Yates Memorial Cup (461m) on Thursday night.
Pollinator Ken, owned by the Gold Nugget Syndicate, dominated from start to finish, comfortably defeating Simply Danger with a time of 26.14 in his Tasbred series heat last week.
Winning the Shane Yates Memorial Cup, first introduced in 2020, would be another milestone in Wright’s achievements since beginning his training career a decade ago.
“He is showing improvement with every run, the heat was impressive,” Josh said of Pollinator Ken.
“We need a similar scenario again to have a chance; the dog has terrific early speed.”
Josh has trained 237 winners throughout his career and has achieved 23 wins so far this year.
In recent years, he has teamed up for training with his partner, Katie Grubb, and his father-in-law, Robin Grubb.
Fisherman’s Wish wins in Launceston on 17 February.
Pollinator Ken, a red brindle son of Aston Dee Bee and Peco Can, has claimed six wins in Hobart, with five of those over the 461-metre distance, amassing a total of 12 victories from 35 career starts.
Little Sister Fisherman’s Wish is in box four, while Pollinator Ken is in box seven for the $11,970-to-the-winner feature.
“We prefer to see them positioned one-two heading into the first turn, with some trouble occurring behind them.” said Josh.
“There are several dogs in this field poised to make a late charge, and Stella Shadows will be tough to beat.”
Josh also considers the Allan Clark-trained duo, Darling Danger and Simply Danger, to be strong contenders.
Stella Shadows is set to start as the favourite in the race, coming from box six for trainer Gary Fahey.
She led the series by being the only greyhound to break 26 seconds, winning her heat with an impressive time of 25.93.
A Shane Yates Memorial Cup victory by Stella Shadows, the daughter of Feral Franky and Stella Shadows, would mark her Tasmanian Hall of Fame trainer’s second win in the race, following Raider’s Guide.
Darling Danger, representing Allan Clark, and Inspector Frank, representing Jillian Stamford, were the other heat winners.
“It’s a great buzz to have two good chances in the race,” Josh added.
“We’ve been trying to win this race for a few years now, and it would be amazing to finally achieve it in honour of Shane.”
The Tasbred series has a rich history in the greyhound calendar. Originally introduced as the Minister’s Gift in 2001 and won by Stylish Doctor, it was discontinued after Kune claimed victory in 2015.
The race was reinstated in 2018 as the Winter Tasbred Cup, won by Fernando Magic for David Crosswell, before being renamed in 2020 to honour the late legendary broadcaster Shane Yates.
Thursday night’s program in Hobart includes 11 races, kicking off at 19:07.