Following the exciting heats last week, the box draw for Australia’s richest greyhound race, the $250 000 Group 1 Solo Melbourne Cup (515m), was held on Saturday night at the annual Melbourne Cup Ball at Sandown Park.
Sensational speedster Take The Kitty, the only interstate dog in the elite final field this year, drew the rails with the coveted box one. Getting the inside running has increased the Ken Cheetham-trained runner’s chance to secure his first feature race victory and the lucrative $175 000 to-the-winner prize exceptionally.
Mr. Moorooduc, the Dawn Johnston-trained dog that recorded the second fastest Solo Melbourne Cup heat victory in history (29.57s), has also drawn well in box three.
The most experienced dog in the final with 67 career starts, Graeme Bate’s Turanza Bale has drawn box five. Bate is looking to create his own piece of history on Thursday night by becoming the first trainer to win four Melbourne Cups.
Jamie Ennis’ Octare, who snared a shock victory in the heats as the $33 outsider, has drawn on the outside with box eight. Octare is the only female in the final and is also the oldest contender.
The highly anticipated final for the 2009 $250 000 Group 1 Solo Melbourne Cup is scheduled as race eight this Thursday night at Sandown Park and is due to commence 9:40pm (VIC time).
Group 1 Solo Melbourne Cup Final Field & Box Draw:
Box |
Greyhound |
Trainer |
| 1 |
TAKE THE KITTY |
Ken Cheetham |
| 2 |
PRANKSTER |
Robert Britton |
| 3 |
MR MOOROODUC |
Dawn Johnston |
| 4 |
REMO RUBIK |
Geoff Mitchell |
| 5 |
TURANZA BALE |
Graeme Bate |
| 6 |
DYNA LACHLAN |
Andrea Dailly |
| 7 |
LORD DUCAL |
Jon Roberts |
| 8 |
OCTARE |
Jamie Ennis |
| Reserves: | ||
| 9 |
DAWBILOWS HEAVEN |
Gary Ennis |
| 10 |
GRIPEN BALE |
Graeme Bate |
Sandown Park Race Programme Thursday November 26:
Race # |
Race Name |
Distance |
Grade |
Prizemoney (1st-2nd-3rd) |
Time (VIC) |
| 1 | www.tab.com.au Heat 1 | 515m | 5 | $4200-1200-600 | 7:08pm |
| 2 | Macro Meats Heat 2 | 515m | 5 | $4200-1200-600 | 7:25pm |
| 3 | Pepsi Heat 3 | 515m | 5 | $4200-1200-600 | 7:44pm |
| 4 | Gatorade Heat 4 | 515m | 5 | $4200-1200-600 | 8:08pm |
| 5 | Solo Low Carb Heat 5 | 515m | 5 | $4200-1200-600 | 8:28pm |
| 6 | Solo Melbourne Cup Consolation Final | 515m | NG | $10000-3000-1500 | 8:52pm |
| 7 | Solo Lemon Lime | 515m | 3/4 | $5250-1500-750 | 9:11pm |
| 8 | SOLO MELBOURNE CUP FINAL | 515m | Group 1 | $175000-50000-25000 | 9:40pm |
| 9 | Sunkist Heat 6 | 515m | 5 | $4200-1200-600 | 10:12pm |
| 10 | Pepsi Max Heat 7 | 515m | 5 | $4200-1200-600 | 10:33pm |
| 11 | www.sandowngreyhounds.com.au Heat 8 | 515m | 5 | $4200-1200-600 | 10:52pm |
