Shima, Smokey & Stevie Lock Horns At Shepparton

BETWEEN them the star trio have won group race events, broken track records and rattled the clock just about everywhere they’ve gone.

BETWEEN them they've won group races, broken track records and rattled the clock just about everywhere they've gone.

So it comes as no surprise that little separates Shima Shine, Zambora Smokey and Who Told Stevie in betting for what promises to be the race of the week at Shepparton on Thursday afternoon.

With just a little over two weeks until the start of the Group 2 Bendigo Cup series, Thursday afternoon's tantalizing three-way clash between the sprinting heavyweights has all the ingredients to be a blockbuster.

It follows last Friday at Bendigo where Shima Shine returned to his brilliant best to defeat Who Told Stevie by 6 ¾ lengths in a near record 23.44.

Zambora Smokey takes his place on the strength of a powerhouse Ballarat win, the Warrnambool Cup hero stopping the clock in 24.89.

And with Thursday afternoon's return bout at Shepparton continuing Shima Shine's return to the group racing scene, connections are now hopeful his wretched run with injury and illness are over.

"The problems all really started when he got pole-axed in last year's Topgun," said co-owner Dave Gleeson.

"He had a stress fracture in his pelvis coming out of that which he carried through to the Melbourne Cup and after where he struggled. 

"He had a few weeks off here and there but just wasn't right. Even in the Silver Chief at the start of the year, it was just one thing after another."

Winner at 14 of his 23 starts, the stop and start nature to Shima Shine's 2020 has made him somewhat the forgotten greyhound at a time where there's some outstanding young sprinters.

"I've been around for a long time and I can safely say it's the best young crop of sprinters I've seen," said Gleeson.

"But I wouldn't swap Shima Shine for anything else. Fingers crossed he's back on the right track now and the bad luck is all behind us.

"As well as the pelvis issues he got the greyhound virus pretty bad and also split his webbing from north to south at Sandown in April. But that ended up being a blessing in disguise because he had the time off and we got to the bottom of the stress fracture in his pelvis. That was the big one."

With the upcoming Bendigo Cup firmly on the agenda, Team Dailly's plan to give the Ballarat track record holder an easy time of it leading into the group 2 series hasn't exactly gone to script.

"We thought we'd duck off for an easy mixed race at Shepparton … it looks like we weren't the only one with that idea," quipped Gleeson.

"Providing he jumps clean he'll be hard to beat (from six) with the other two dogs drawn outside him. They are both exceptional dogs don't get me wrong but I can't see how they'll cross our bloke.

"If Shima Shine holds them for the first 90 metres I expect him to explode like last week.

“He's back to his best racing weight now a tip over 36 kilos and five being vacant is a help as well.

"It'll be a good race that's for sure." 

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