Caption: The redeveloped Mandurah track. The first feature run on the new circuit, the Mandurah Cup, was taken out by the consistent Hinto. (Photo: Racing & Wagering WA)
WA NEWS With BRETT HONEY
HINTO was rewarded for effort and consistency when he took out the recent Mandurah Cup, the first to be run on the redeveloped circuit.
Leading into the Cup series, Hinto had been running good races from difficult box draws at Cannington, before taking out the first Free-For-All at Mandurah on November 10. He then won his Cup heat in impressive fashion, proving too strong for Canya Mia in the concluding stages.
Drawing box 3 for the final, he settled forward and went about reeling in the speedy Crumble Monelli mid-race. He was in front turning for home and had enough in the tank to hold off the fast-finishing King Tommy.
King Tommy’s run had to be seen to be believed. He was out of picture up the back and sprouted wings late to only miss by a length. He was beaten on the day, but his status only grew after this performance.
The Mandurah Cup win added a second Group Two to Hinto’s CV to go alongside his 2022 WA Derby triumph, but he continues to be one of the most underrated dogs in WA.
His career prizemoney is now more than $245,000 and he clearly has plenty of racing left. He has also placed in a further three feature finals in 2023.
While he probably will not be mentioned in WA Greyhound Of The Year discussions, his consistency across the entire year, along with his Group Two Mandurah Cup, certainly warrants respect.
Good news for Inside Scoop
Inside Scoop, a greyhound who has always shown plenty of talent, delivered his first feature race success in the recent Listed Anniversary Cup, a race that may be remembered for unfortunate reasons.
Inside Scoop entered the Anniversary Cup off the back of a strong Free-For-All win from box 8 the week prior. He then did just enough to qualify for the final when finishing fourth in his heat.
Drawing box 1 for the final, he threw speed maps out the window when he was able to lead off a modest first section of 5.51. He went wide on the first bend which caused some interference, as he set up a sizable lead mid-race.
King Tommy was the favourite for the race, and it looked to be ‘game on’ around the final bend before injury struck WA’s boom pup.
Inside Scoop then raced away to take out the $20,000-to-the-winner feature.
It was an unfortunate conclusion to what would have been a marvellous battle down the straight and took some of the gloss off Inside Scoop’s win.
Nevertheless, Inside Scoop did everything right and hopefully he can continue his winning ways, as he is very hard to beat when he puts it all together. West On Boonie and Hinto filled the minor placings.
It’s been a wonderful couple of months for the Robartson family with the feats of Inside Scoop and Hinto. Both dogs have very different ways of going about their business, but importantly they’ve handled their racing and it’s paying dividends in a large way.
Escape Way takes the Dart
Escape Way took out this year’s edition of the Dart, an event where the best short-course dogs in the state get to strut their stuff on the city card at Cannington.
Escape Way put the writing on the wall in his heat. Although he ran second to Rex Hunter, he went 15.82 and 5.39 early, which is a performance good enough to win nine times out of ten.
He began beautifully in the final and did enough to hold off the fast-finishing Turtle Fernando in a time of 15.85.
Turtle Fernando was the punters’ pal in the final, where there was plenty of money for him to place at a generous price.
The series was well received by the WA greyhound public and the move to have the final run on a Saturday night has drastically improved the profile of the event. It is something different for people to watch and as an annual feature, creates a welcome point of difference on a congested, and often repetitive calendar.
The month ahead in WA
The WA Greyhound calendar is off to flying start in January with the running of the popular Group 2 Birthday Cup at Mandurah getting underway on the first Friday of the year.
The Birthday Cup is over 400m and the heats are always fascinating viewing. The best 400m dogs often compete against our top 520m sprinters who drop back to contest this series. The specialist 400m dogs have had their measure in recent years, with Bones Mccoy and Crumble Monelli (who was yet to run over 520m leading up to the final) the most recent winners of the event. Prizemoney has also been boosted for 2024, with the winner set to receive a $60,000 pay day.
The Kanyana Cup and Express Stake series headline the provincial meetings in January, providing those greyhounds coming through the grades with an opportunity to win a feature race rug and are always well supported by the punters.