Zammit looking forward to Valpolicella’s long home run

By Pat McLeod

Tony Zammit’s distance queen Valpolicella this week launches into what could be an unprecedented home town glory run.

Fresh from a Melbourne campaign where she ran third in a dramatic Sandown Cup Final over 715 metres, Valpolicella on Wednesday will compete in a heat of the Group 3 Dashing Corsair over 710 metres at Albion Park.

That race marks the start of a six-week 2024 Queensland Winter Greyhound Racing Carnival campaign at her home track, which includes four feature races, culminating in the Group 1 Queensland Cup over 710 metres on July 4.

“She is fresh. She is ready,” a confident Zammit declared.

“The good thing now is that we have the carnival at home, so she's coming home to race for a while.

“She will back up fine (in the Dashing Corsair heats) because she didn't do a lot of work in the Sandown Cup.

“So, at this stage we will be concentrating on the Brisbane carnival and no doubt there will be a number of interstaters coming up for the distance races in the carnival.

“There is week-to-week feature racing now at Albion Park, right through until the Group 1 Final in early July 4. At this stage I'm definitely looking at all of those races for Valpolicella."

Zammit gave her a spell of almost six weeks a little while ago.

“Knowing that all these races were coming up, it has worked out well that I did that, because she went well at The Gardens (in The 715), breaking the track record," the top trainer said. 

“Then she raced well at Sandown, so she is still fresh in herself now from week to week.”

Already boasting a record of 51 starts for 28 wins and 17 placings for $979,710 in prize money, the Shima Shine and Saldana chaser’s likely upcoming program is:

Wednesday May 29: Heats of the $30,000 to the winner Group 3 Dashing Corsair, with the Final Thursday, June 6;

Thursday, June 13: The Group 3 Origin Distance ($100,000 to the winner);

Thursday, June 20: The Group 2 Super Stayers invitational ($75,000 to the winner);

Thursdays, June 27 and July 4: Heats and then Final of the Group 1 Queensland Cup, worth $175,000 to the winner.

Zammit was far from disappointed with Valpolicella’s performance, running third in last Friday night’s action-packed Sandown Cup.

“I was happy with her run. When I watched the replay I could see that she received a number of checks,” he said.

“There was more speed in that race than when she won the 715 at The Gardens off the red.

“There were four speedy dogs in the Sandown Cup. My girl was just getting little bumps constantly as she tried to position herself.

“Then she got shuffled right back. Then she still finished powerfully, which made her run look pretty good because at one stage she was last. She pulled up well after that run and it was fortunate that she missed the interference in the closing stages of the race.

“Ironically because she was a bit further back it was probably a blessing in disguise and that allowed her to stay clear of that trouble.”

One of the stars of the Queensland Winter Carnival’s curtain-raiser, QGOLD Features night, Mystical Beck, is also making an appearance in the Dashing Corsair heats.

The Tommy Shelby and Wheatacre bitch was very impressive in taking out the QGOLD Stayers Final over 710 metres in 42.26 seconds.

On that night trainer Karen Kleinhans said she believed the distance rookie could handle a step up to the next level.

Those sentiments were echoed by experienced trainer Brian Baker, who bred the litter, and who works in with the Kleinhans’ kennel.

“She is green as grass over the longer distance, but her potential is yet untapped,” Baker said.

“She will get under 42 seconds and she is not near her best yet. One of her biggest assets is that she is such a relaxed dog, in her racing. She is all-business, but not stressed.”

Two Brisbane Cup Preludes over 520 metres, each worth $16,000 to the winner, will also be held at Albion Park on Wednesday.

These have attracted the likes of Rob Britton’s Group sprinter Trooper Tears as well as local heavy weights All Natural, Magistrate and Bear’s Bullet.

The Winter Carnival flavour continues at headquarters on Thursday night with six heats of the age-restricted Group 1 Flying Amy Classic over 520 metres and five heats of the newly minted Group 2 Cyndie’s Magic over 600 metres.