Magical Hector Fawley Heats Up Australian Cup

IAN and Lisa Cockerell were left pondering what might have been after Hector Fawley set a magical pace in Saturday night's Group 1 Australian Cup heats at The Meadows.

Australia's best middle distance greyhound, Hector Fawley again showed he can be just as effective in elite sprinting company with a devastating Best Of Night performance.

Hector Fawley was second reserve for the Temlee, with his scintillating 29.54sec victory in the fourth of eight Cup heats eclipsing the 29.63sec run by Explicit in the Group 1 invitational.

"It would've been nice to see him in the good race later on," said a philosophical Ian Cockerell post-race.

Coming off another sizzling 29.70sec BON performance a week earlier, Hector Fawley started $3.70 favourite from box five in his Cup heat.

The result was a foregone conclusion when the powerhouse galloper came through the first turn in second place behind My Magic Man.

Heat 4️⃣

That's some statement from the rocket that is Hector Fawley! ????

Rev Rose and My Magic Man round out the Top 3. pic.twitter.com/FqZomCG5LN

— Melbourne Greyhounds – The Meadows (@MelbourneGreys) February 10, 2024

Hector Fawley powered clear in the home straight, romping to a four-length verdict over Rev Rose in a new Meadows 525m PB, smashing his previous benchmark established a week earlier.

With Hector Fawley advancing to the Cup semi-finals, the Cockerells will have two shots at Group 1 glory over the next fortnight.

If their proudly home-bred son of Bernardo and Rolanda Hooch misses out on the Australian Cup Final he'll be the first greyhound chosen for the Rookie Rebel invitational (600m).

"The Rookie Rebel has been his aim from the start," Ian Cockerell said.

"He's a better 600m dog but because there's no races we're able to drop him back to the sprint. So, he's got both angles.

"We've bred hundreds of dogs but he's the best. He's just an amazing animal."

The second fastest heat performance came from the royally bred Cain Bale, a son of Feral Franky and champion 2017 Australian Cup heroine Fanta Bale.

Trained by Mark Delbridge, Cain Bale extended his winning streak to five when dominating the final run-off in 29.59sec.

Cain Bale was the second Wheeler-bred son of a past Australian Cup winner to claim a heat.

Correy Grenfell's Ike Bale, a son of the great Barcia Bale and 2019 Cup winner Dyna Patty, won the second qualifier in 29.99sec.

The eight heat winners, in time order, were Hector Fawley (29.54sec), Cain Bale (29.59sec), Shima Current (29.70sec), American Queen (29.89sec), Tim Zoo (29.94sec), Ike Bale (29.99sec), Fred Rose (30.04sec) and Pass The Buck (30.06sec).