By TERRY WILSON

THE age-old Sale Cup continues to hold its position as the only distance Group 1 event in Victorian provincial greyhound racing.

The 650m Cup has been run for decades and remains as one of the most sought-after classics at any track in Australia.

And club General Manager Peter Johnston believes that with COVID-19’s curse seemingly dead and buried, this year’s Cup final, on Boxing Day, is set to be run in front of a bumper crowd.

“Post COVID we’ll obviously have people here this year so that’s a good start,’ said Johnston.

“Having the Cup on Boxing Day is a good date crowd-wise and we expect somewhere between 3000 and 5000.” said Johnston.

This will be the 19th time the Cup has been staged on Boxing Day.

The Sale Cup is the first of a triple Group 1 bonanza for country Victoria, to be followed by Cups at Warragul and Traralgon.

Traralgon is back in the loop after being closed for some time for work on the track.

Last year’s Sale Cup was won by Houdini Boy (pictured above) for trainer Kel Greenough.