Daillys In Box Seat For Victorian National Sprint

TOM and Andrea Dailly are in the box seat to claim the Victorian National Sprint Championship at Sandown Park on Thursday evening.

TOM and Andrea Dailly are in the box seat to claim the Victorian National Sprint Championship at Sandown Park on Thursday night.

The husband and wife training partnership won three of the four heats last Thursday night and also won the box draw with Zippy Tesla and Dusty Bourbski coming up with boxes one and two respectively.

Zippy Tesla is the $2.10 favourite with TAB following his eye catch victory last week. Owned and bred by the Daillys, Zippy Tesla has improved with each of his three runs this preparation and overcame trouble in the run to finish powerfully and win his heat by 1.5 lengths in 29.42.

While the box draw will aim Zippy Tesla's prospects, his modest 5.28 first split was representative of his racing pattern and will need luck at some point in running.

Dusty Bourbski on the other hand, showed good muster when leading through the first turn in his heat and, having again drawn box two, should be quick enough to cross his kennelmate. The son of the Dailly trained Meadows track record holder Allen Deed has built an impressive CV in his 26 starts and is a two-time group race finalist at Sandown Park, and his 29.23 best time at the track is clearly the fastest of the finalists.

FIELDS AND FORM SANDOWN PARK THURSDAY NIGHT

Of the other finalists, Photo Man (box 3) should improve off his first run in a month but may lack the speed to cross early; Zara's Ivan (also trained by the Daillys) took full advantage of box one in his heat but has drawn awkwardly in box 6; and while Vayda Bale recorded the fastest first split last week, will need to improve further to cross from box seven.

The Daillys also have a strong hand in the Victorian National Distance Championship final, though Jarick Bale will likely start favourite from box 3.

Jarick Bale, a two-time group 1 winner over the middle distance, has also proved adept over the longer journey having finished second in the group 1 Sandown Cup and group 3 Fireball.

He rounded out his preparations with a pair of comfortable wins over the longer trip at Sandown and The Meadows and looks well placed here.

Collinda Lady was disappointing at her last start when beaten by Jarrick Bale at Sandown Park in July, but she is a natural stayer in the care of Jason Thompson and can't be discounted.

Gypsy Wyong is hard to draw a form line through but when right is one of the finest – albeit underrated – stayers in the country. The four-time group 1 winner has $499,000 in prize money and is aiming to contest her ninth career group 1 final just a month after her third birthday.

She's won just one of her last 10 starts – a heat of the world's richest staying race, ‘The 715' – but will appreciate an inside draw at a track and distance at which she's been in the money in five of her seven starts. She hasn't raced in over a month but has run well fresh previously and looks a good each-way chance at the price.

State Championship finals night is a showcase evening of greyhound racing with the finals of both the sprint and distance from each state – as well as New Zealand – being run on the same evening.

The winner of each final will progress to the group 1 National Championships at Wentworth Park on Saturday 27 August.

TIPS

 Victorian National Sprint: 2 – Dusty Bourbski (win)

Victorian National Distance: 1 – Gypsy Wyong (each way)

 Best on the card: Let's Win Coin (race 9, box 1)

Next best: Paddy Wants Pats (race 5, box 4)

Value: Loud Hose (race 11, box 1)

Quaddie: 124 / 12345 / 135 / 12 = $50 for 55.55%

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