THERE are three reasons why star Victorian greyhound Black Magic Opal can win the $105,000 Group 1 Tattsbet Hobart Thousand over 461 metres at Tattersall’s Park tonight.
Drawing the outside box (8) means he should secure a clear run to the top turn and secondly he is likely to improve on the time he produced to win his heat last week which was in track record time of 25.65.
But the main reason why he should win the time honoured event is that he is clearly the best sprint greyhound racing in Australia.
His Melbourne Cup win last month shot him to the top of the national rankings and his record of 28 wins from 35 starts for over $500,000 in stakes is further testament to his ability.
The dog’s trainer Jason Thompson has longed to win the Hobart Thousand as it is one of only a couple of Group 1 races to elude him during his illustrious training career.
“I definitely would love to win this race because it is the oldest feature event in Australia and there is nothing like winning feature races,” Thompson said.
“The box draw was always going to be important and I am very happy with the outside box. I wanted box eight because it is the best result for this dog,” he said.
While Thompson is keen on the chances of Black Magic Opal giving him his first Hobart Thousand he also has his recent Group 2 Ballarat Cup winner Ronan Izmir through to the final after an emphatic heat win in a time of 25.87.
Ronan Izmir has won three Group 2 country Cups this year starting with the Bendigo Cup in March before taking out the Warrnambool Cup two months later in which he led all the way to defeat Paw Licking that also won his way into Thursday night’s Hobart Thousand final.
“I am very fortunate to have two dogs into the final that are capable of winning the race,” Thompson said.
“Ronan Izmir’s heat win was incredible because he missed the start and found trouble and it was his first look at the track but he still managed to find a way to win and ran really good time.”
“If Ronan Izmir brings his absolute A game to the final and leads he is going to be very hard to beat,” he said.
Paw Licking has been a model of consistency for Victorian trainer Kel Greenough and he too was an impressive heat winner.
This will be the dog’s ninth Group final this year and while he has only won two, the Shepparton Cup and Traralgon Cup, he has been placed in his past three finals and he was a game fourth in the Group 1 National Sprint Championship at The Meadows behind Xylia Allen in August.
Paw Licking won his Hobart Thousand heat in a time of 25.77 which was the second fastest of the six heat winners and he has drawn box seven in Thursday night’s final.
He is a renowned quick beginner so if he shows his normal zip at the start and darts to the fence he too could be hard to run down.
The Robert Britton-trained Farmor Las Vegas also impressed in winning his heat from box two, recording a time of 25.78 which was excellent given he was held up for part of the run to the home-turn.
He won his heat by almost four lengths with his run home one of the best of the night.
Farmor Las Vegas went into the Hobart Thousand heat on the back of a game second to Kiss Me Ketut in the Group 1 Brisbane Cup last Thursday week and that followed a win in the Group 3 Silver Bullet at The Meadows last month.
Farmor Las Vegas will wear the white vest in the final.
Britton also has Clone Your Own engaged in box four and he also has the form on the board to suggest he can win if luck is on his side at the start.
Clone Your Own scraped into the final as one of the two fastest second placegetters from the six heats. He was second to star local Hellyeah Bolt.
Of the locals Hellyeah Bolt (5) and Yappin’ Jack (2) loom as outside chances as they are both suspect beginners, although Yappin’ Jack would be competitive from box two if Farmor Las Vegas (3) doesn’t beat him out and crash straight to the fence.
Sing The Song drew box one and she has good early speed but probably not enough to hold out the more fancied interstate invaders that have drawn out wide.
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