PROMISING staying greyhound Lillycette has always shown ability over the longer distances and she gets her chance to win a feature distance event when she tackles the UBET Championship final over 720 metres in Launceston tonight.
The Ted Medhurst-trained bitch has been racing well in Tasmania after having mixed results during an interstate campaign that netted a win at The Meadows and two minor placings at Wentworth Park in Sydney before ending the trip with an unplaced effort in a heat of the Sandown Cup over 715 metres last month.
Lillycette has a great record in Tasmania having won 16 of her 26 starts with two of her most impressive victories coming in 599-metre events in Hobart.
At her most recent outing she was last of eight in Launceston behind Frosty’s Capable in a mixed grades 4-5 event over 600 metres but she coped three severe bumps that resulted in her needing a week off.
Tonight Lillycette starts from box seven and provided she avoids trouble the daughter of Velocette should be hard to beat.
Frosty’s Capable looms as the main danger with Nick Nac Norris, Miss Somebody and Pedro’s Vineyard all genuine place hopes.
Tonight’s race is the first of a series of races leading to the State heats of the National Distance Championship in August.
Upcoming events are:
July 6 LGRC – 720m Winter Stakes heats (FTA 16).
July 13 LGRC – 720m Winter Stakes final.
July 23 HGRC – 709m Chinatown Lad Distance Series heats (FTA 32)
July 30 HGRC – 709m Chinatown Lad Distance Series final.
August 3 LGRC – 720m State heats Heats National Distance Championship and 515m Heats National Sprint Championship.
August 10 LGRC – State finals National Distance and Sprint Championships.
August 24 LGRC – 720m Ebony Minda.
September 07 LGRC – 720m Richard Stamford Perpetual Stakes (FTA 8).
By Peter Staples.