News

'Aussie' rocks in Melbourne Cup

Highly underrated sprinter Aussie Rocks proved an unsuspecting ‘rock star’ with an upset victory in the $1,008,000 Group 1 Sportsbet Melbourne Cup final (515m) at Sandown Park on Saturday night.

Sportsbet Melbourne Cup

Dream Chasers

3 Dec

,

2023

Highly underrated sprinter Aussie Rocks proved an unsuspecting ‘rock star’ with an upset victory in the $1,008,000 Group 1 Sportsbet Melbourne Cup final (515m) at Sandown Park on Saturday night.

In winning the sport’s ‘Holy Grail’, he joined an honour roll dripping with history – virtually reducing veteran Spotswood trainer Geoff Mitchell, 68, to tears.

Practically lost for words, Mitchell uttered: “Unbelievable… What’s happened now, you tell me.

“I can’t believe it. He’s the best dog I’ve ever trained. I’ve trained dogs for 45 years.”

In reference to one of Aussie Rocks’ owners, Mitchell said: “He’ll be crying up there (in the Henry Harrison Grandstand).

“This is what you get up and train dogs for,” Mitchell added. “It’s just one of those things, it’s hard to explain.”

Aussie Rocks ($16.40) landed a cool $650,000 first prize with a proverbial ‘rails like a greyhound’ performance. He defeated a gallant Big Energy ($1.90F) by 0.4L, with Mac’s Damage ($19.30) a further 0.6L away third in 29.55sec.

Runner-up in this year’s G1 National Sprint Championship, Aussie Rocks notched his 16th win from 37 starts. His stakes spiralled to $767,935. He was also a finalist in this year’s G3 Silver Bullet.

It was also a sensational result for stud dog Aussie Infrared which sired the quinella.

Since the Melbourne Cup’s inception in 1956, Aussie Rocks is only the seventh greyhound to win the race from Box 5. And he’s the longest-priced winner in the past 20 years.

Meanwhile, NSW staying monarch Palawa King reigned supreme in the $165,500 Group 1 Sportsbet Bold Trease final (715m).

Trained by Ray Smith, Palawa King did it the hard way, working through the field after ‘falling out’ at box rise.

Palawa King ($6.00) notched his 22nd win from 53 starts defeating counterpart Ritza Piper ($10.30) by 1.3L with Victorian champ Zoha Bale ($2.90F) a further 0.2L away third in 41.75sec – only 3L off the 41.57sec race record, set by Sweet It Is in 2014.

And for the second successive year, NSW quinellaed the race. Last year, Stagger Out Lee defeated Cawbourne Magic.

The $105,000 first prize catapulted Palawa King’s prizemoney to $656,905. It was his third G1 victory, having also taken out this year’s Queensland Cup at Albion Park and National Distance Championship at The Meadows.

“He went nice,” a humble Smith said. “We knew he was a run short (in the heats).

“It’s one off the ‘bucket list’; I hadn’t won a Group race here (at Sandown).

“He’s got a big motor. When we get the preparation right, he’s hard to beat.”

Events

The Sportsbet Dream Chasers Festival is back!

With over $3.5million in prize money up for grabs, The Meadows and Sandown Park again play host to these blockbuster greyhound events, including the history and prestige of the Group 1 Sportsbet Melbourne Cup, as well as the energy and excitement of the most exhilarating race in greyhound racing, The Phoenix.

Heading

Location

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Sportsbet Topgun

The Meadows

The 2024 Sportsbet Dream Chasers Festival will again kick off with the Sportsbet Topgun Sprint and Topgun Stayers Invitational Races. This is the chance watch Australia’s best hand-picked chasers battle it out. In addition, making it a treble of Group 1s, ‘The Meadows’ very own Hume Cup will also light up the track.

Nov

9

Sportsbet Melbourne Cup Heats

Sandown Park

Sportsbet Melbourne Cup Heats night is possibly the best quality night of racing in the world with 8 x heats featuring the best dogs in the country.

Nov

23

Sportsbet Melbourne Cup

Sandown Park

The Sportsbet Melbourne Cup is considered the world's greatest greyhound race, boasting an honour roll that's unrivalled.

Nov

30

The Phoenix

The Meadows

After just three runnings, The Phoenix has quickly risen to become the most captivating and phenomenal greyhound race in the country. Offering a total prize pool of $1.65 million and a $1 million winners cheque, it’s the richest greyhound race in the world and the biggest party in greyhound racing! Be part of the phenomenon in 2024.

Dec

21