Sparks set to fly in Golden Ticket

By Alex Nolan

Trainer Steve Kavanagh believes Thursday’s highly anticipated Golden Ticket match race between his Ipswich Cup winner Louis Rumble and Spotted Elk may well be decided in the early stages.

“Put it this way, whoever goes past the catching pen in front will more than likely be the winner,” the Pottsville-based trainer told Racing Queensland.

The biggest question facing punters is, who will it be?

The pair will face off in match race three of the Golden Ticket Final which, for betting purposes, comes up as race nine at Albion Park and comprises four two-dog match races over 520 metres. 

The greyhound with the fastest winning time will be crowned the Golden Ticket winner, earning their connections $40,000 in prize money and an express pass into next month’s Group 1 Gold Bullion Final.

Louis Rumble capped off a successful 2021 – which included an all the way win in the Group 2 Ipswich Cup – with a blistering 29.64 second win in the Listed New Year’s Trophy at Albion Park on December 30.

He started 2022 with a runner-up result in last week’s Golden Ticket heats behind Victorian visitor Aston Ulysses.

Spotted Elk won December’s inaugural Listed Queensland Flame at Albion Park in 29.75 seconds before representing Graham and Leanne Hall with distinction when second in the $1.145 million TAB Phoenix at The Meadows.

Spotted Elk turned in two uncharacteristically poor runs on her return to Queensland, before winning her Golden Ticket heat in 30 seconds last Thursday.

Both greyhounds boast a best first split of 5.44 seconds at Albion Park, ensuring sparks will fly when the boxes open.

“It’s an interesting scenario because they can both run similar times if untouched,” Kavanagh said.

“If Louis Rumble leads or near leads, he’s a good chance of winning most races he contests.

“Spotted Elk does the same thing and she leads nearly every time.”

Kavanagh said Louis Rumble’s primary focus was winning the match against Spotted Elk but hopes a repeat performance to that of his New Year’s Trophy win can be enough to be competitive overall.

“If we’re any chance of winning the overall prize we’ve got to run 29.6 seconds again and hope Impact doesn’t go any better,” Kavanagh said.

The legendary trainer believes winning the Golden Ticket would be a distinct advantage heading into the $300,0000 Gold Bullion on February 3.  

“It is an advantage, as it's one less race you need to win, or risk injury in,” he said.

“Another little freshen up wouldn’t hurt a dog like Louis Rumble with his traits.”  

As of Wednesday afternoon, punters were siding with Louis Rumble ($1.60) to beat home ‘The Elk’ ($2.20) in their match.

Louis Rumble was steady at $4.80 with TAB to win the Golden Ticket Series, while Spotted Elk drifted from an opening quote of $5.50 to $6.50.

The best backed runner since TAB markets opened has been Spotted Elk’s litter sister Extra Malt, who has firmed from $7.50 into $3.80 second favourite.

Fastest qualifier Impact heads the market at $3.30, drifting from his opening quote of $2.90.

Individual match-race markets can be found in 'Racing Extras' on the TAB app.