Caption: The Jamie Hosking-trained Dundee Lexi winning at Albion Park … connections are hoping she can breakthrough at Ipswich on Saturday night. (Photo: Box 1 Photography)

Weekly wrap of racing at Ipswich with MIKE HILL

TWO promising chasers, Dundee Lexi and Lippy Kid, face off for the second time in a week in ‘a hot field’ over 630m at Ipswich on Saturday night.

The pair, fresh from ‘somewhat disappointing’ Darwin Cup campaigns, have clashed twice before with both sharing the honours.

The Andrew Webb-trained Lippy Kid won over the Ipswich journey in early July, while the Jamie Hosking-prepared Dundee Lexi was successful over 600m at Albion Park on Monday.

The pair failed to meet in Darwin with Lippy Kid running third in her Cup heat before winning the Consolation, while Dundee Lexi finished runner-up to Omar Monelli in both her heat and the $45,000 Cup Final (537m).

Hosking said although Dundee Lexi had given her all, it was still disappointing to narrowly lose the Cup.

The light fawn chaser (Aussie Infrared-Dundee Calypso) failed by only a head, strangely, the same margin she won by on Monday.

Dundee Lexi had been drawn in last week’s Queensland Distance Championship Final (710m) at Albion Park, but Hosking said ‘issues with the dog’s flight back from Darwin meant we could not get her home in time for the race’.

“There is not too much on the calendar for her at the moment,” he said.

“The 630m at Ipswich is a nice race as we look to push her out to 700m.

“We’ll just keep her ticking over, taking it week-to-week.”

Hosking and a mate purchased Dundee Lexi from Victorian interests in late April and she has been a model of consistency since arriving in the Sunshine State.

She has only been out of the money once (four wins, eight placings) in 13 starts for her new owners.

“We saw some of her runs at Sandown and decided to take a punt on her,” said Hosking, based at Churchable, west of Brisbane.

“She’s a good, honest dog and very competitive.

“She puts in 100 per cent, is never out of a race and is strong at the finish.

“She’s a good little chaser.”

Webb, on the other hand, said he was looking for an improved performance from Lippy Kid, but admitted she faced a ‘hot field’ on Saturday night.

“She did all right in Darwin, although I would have liked to have seen her get to the Cup final,” he said.

“But I was disappointed with Monday’s run (fifth behind Dundee Lexi).

“The track was slow and she copped a squeeze early on.

“She showed no signs that anything was wrong, however, her weight was a little light after the trip back from Darwin.

“It was her first trip away and a nice experience for her.”

The trainer, based at Summerholm in the Lockyer Valley region, west of Brisbane, said Lippy Kid seemed to like the Ipswich track better than Albion Park.

“And she does better when she jumps and leads,” he said.

“We don’t have high expectations; we’ll just see how she goes.

“She’s only a lightly framed bitch and she needs to be on top of the ground.”

Webb said this week’s wet weather hadn’t helped her preparations.

He agreed it was a tough race with many chances.

The field includes the Darren Russell-trained Cash Cloud, an impressive winner over the trip last week in a slick 37.24s, while Bowled Shane (Jason Bloomfield), My Genie (Renald Attard), Serrai (Tom Tzouvelis) and Letho Land (Matt Bourke) have all won over the journey and the Tony Zammit-prepared Mickayla Swift is a half-sister to champion stayer Valpolicella.

LEADING trainer Tom Tzouvelis rugs up two of the main chances in an interesting 5th Grade Final (520m) at Ipswich on Saturday night.

Tzouvelis will be represented by last-start heat winners Fearless Freak (box 3) and I’m Old School (box 5).

Both were very strong at the end of their races last weekend and should be running on again, while David Fitzgerald boxes the fastest heat winner Pale Rider in two.

The light fawn sprinter (Fernando Bale-Classy Aria) was highly impressive in his heat, clocking a smart 30.57s after producing a quick 5.23s first split.

It was Pale Rider’s first success over the trip.

OWNERS, breeders and nominees are reminded that they have just hours to submit nominations for this year’s Ipswich Golden Chase puppy auction.

Nominations will close later today (Friday).

This year’s auction will be held at the Ipswich Showgrounds greyhound complex on Saturday, October 12.

Pups sold through one of the two sale categories – auction and buy-in – will be eligible for a series of races in 2026 at The Q.

A total prizemoney pool of $180,000 will be on offer for the three-race series.

* The Golden Chase 520m series, to be run on the Q2 track, will carry prizemoney totalling $110,000 with winning connections taking home $75,000.

* The Golden Chase 450m series, on the Q1 circuit, will offer $50,000 with $33,000 going to the winner.

*And for the first time, the Golden Chase Straight Track series will be run on the QS course with $20,000 up for grabs, $12,000 going to the winner.

The auction is open to pups whelped between October 1, 2023, and June 1, 2024.

Nomination forms and terms and conditions are available at www.ipswichgreyhounds.com or by phoning 07 3202 2977.