Jungle Deuce turns up the heat

By Richard Goodbody

A kind box draw has Jungle Deuce primed for next week’s Group 2 Golden Sands Final at Albion Park after a blistering heat win last night.

The Jack Smith-trained NSW superstar stopped the clock in 34.52 – just 0.09 seconds outside of Champagne Sally’s track record – posting the third quickest time in history over the 600m trip at Albion Park.

The heat wins continued Jungle Deuce’s white-hot form of late, having obliterated the 516m track record at Dubbo last start, recording a remarkable 28.93 to become the first greyhound to run sub-30.

Breaking records is nothing new to the dual Group winner, who now boasts 20 wins from just 36 starts and almost $300,000 in prize money to remain unbeaten in Queensland.

Earlier this year, Jungle Deuce set a new race record of 29.54 en route to victory in the TAB Flying Amy Classic.

He then backed up a week later to lead NSW to State of Origin glory with victory over Extra Malt in the match race.

The pair will resume their rivalry next week, with Extra Malt drawing box five for the Final after finishing second behind Victorian dog, Aston Ulysses, in the opening heat of the night.

“He went nice, he handled box six well,” Smith said.

“But box two is a lot better than box six. Just watching it, I knew he was running time…I wasn’t sure how fast, but I knew he was running time.

“He smashed the record at Dubbo last start and he’s got a good record.”

Unsurprisingly, Jungle Deuce is expected to be installed as a short-priced favourite for the $113,000 Final.

Last night’s other heat winners included Line Of Quality (34.84) and We The People (35.00).

In the New Years Trophy, Louis Rumble claimed the Final after running a slick 29.64 to put the field to the sword.

While Jungle Deuce proved too strong for Louis Rumble in the Flying Amy, the Stephen Kavanagh-trained dog turned the tables on his kennel mate, Irinka Riley, to claim a three-length victory.

The win improved his record to 23-9-2 from 43 starts and more than $185,000 in prize money.

Having run the 520m trip at Albion Park on 13 prior occasions, Louis Rumble shaved 0.08 off his track best to clinch the TAB Golden Greys Summer Carnival feature.

Smith said with Louis Rumble’s sizzling time, Irinka Riley was running for second.

“I was happy with that,” Smith said.

“Once (Louis Rumble) ran 29.6, he was never going to win but we will bring him back next week.”

In the TAB Christmas Stocking Final, Wolf Steele ensured a local victory with a narrow win for Tony Brett over the Jedda Cutlack-trained Shaye.

Despite jumping as a $19 fixed odds chance with TAB – and $14.60 on the tote – Wolf Steele turned the tables on Shaye after finishing two-and-a-half lengths behind her during last week’s heat.

Jumping brilliantly, Wolf Steele found the rail immediately to lead from start to finish in 29.99.

While Shaye closed late, it wasn’t enough to prevent Wolf Steele from claiming the biggest win of her career to date.