If the John Thomas-prepared Reel ‘Em Bluey was to take out Wednesday afternoon’s Group 3 $25,000-to-the-winner Taree Cup, it’d cap some kind of training performance.
Thomas has only had the dog in his care for about five weeks, with the change in kennels coming after the greyhounds owner, Terry Millar, asked Thomas for a favour.
“Terry [Millar] owns him and his family love their racing so he brought him over and he said, “do you reckon you can do something good with him? I just want to make a group race, that’s all I want to do and I'll be happy”. Well, we’re in a Group 3 now so hopefully we can win it,” Thomas said.
Reel 'Em Bluey
Thomas now aiming to make it two country cups in the space of six months after claiming the Group 3 Casino Cup with Take Two in November last year.
The 76-year-old admitting that after a few years out of the game, he has never been as passionate about the sport.
“I’m all fired up now that I’m back and I want to win a few more races before I can’t get on with it anymore. I’m just an old trainer who is happy winning a few races around the bush and hopefully this dog can add another one to the trophy cabinet,” Thomas said.
The Lansdowne local confident Reel ‘Em Bluey - the fastest qualifier for the final in a time of 30.76 - can continue his winning ways.
“He’s pulled up really well, as a matter of fact, he hasn’t stopped barking all bloody day. When he feels well, this is how he behaves,” Thomas said.
“I thought his heat run was good and for the amount of work I gave him, I thought his run home time was great. Drawing Box 2 in the final gives him every chance and if he can get around the first corner without trouble, he’ll be every chance.
“As for who we have to beat, I think Cataclysmic is the biggest danger. It’s trained by a man who knows how to win races and it’s beautifully boxed in the eight. You get a really good run down the outside from Box 8 over the Taree 500 as well so it deserves to be favourite,” he added.
Cataclysmic with trainer Allan Lang
The Allan Lang-trained Cataclysmic is yet to taste defeat in five starts from Box 8, but Lang was quick to declare he hasn’t won a race with this much quality from the wide draw.
“He’s got a good record out of Box 8 but not against the calibre of these dogs. He’s five from five in the pink but he does rail well too,” Lang said.
“He won the Group 2 Lismore Cup but that was on his home track. I think he’s up to these races though and it’d be terrific for the dog. Any race is great to win but this field is very good and it’s a Group event,” he added.
The Stratheden-based trainer forced to look afar for quality races now that his kennel star has worked his way successfully through the grades.
“It’s around five hours down to Taree so we’ll travel down the morning of the race but that’s what we have to do sometimes. We’ve raced a lot at Casino but he wants 500 now and doesn’t tend to go too well at Grafton which has forced us to look around a bit more for his races,” Lang said.
Lang happy to acknowledge his youngsters immense talent, but also quick to pencil him in behind a couple of sharp ones who have previously made his kennels home.
“Paw Licking and Weekend Binge were probably a bit in front of him. Paw Licking won four Group 2’s and a Group 1 race down in Hobart. And Weekend Binge won the SA Derby back in 2016 so they’re probably still in front of him at the moment,” Lang said.
Zambora Tiger adds further intrigue to the race from Box 6, with the daughter of Zambora Brockie x Prancing Tiger only racing twice in the past three months.
Trainer Scott Tyson believes there is plenty of improvement to come after her heat run and is quietly confident his charge has enough pace to win the Cup.
“I’m really looking forward to the final as the heat was only her second 500m back from a little injury spell. I just finished watching the replay and she jumped a bit at the start and that’s her only issue. She can be a bit iffy at the boxes,” Tyson said.
Zambora Tiger
“I think she’s the fastest dog in the field though. She’s run 29.5 at Wentworth Park and in her first 500m back she trialled 29.2 at Gosford prior to the heats so she can fly. She’ll just have to begin and beat the Return Mac and Cataclysmic to the first turn to win,” he added.
The Taree Cup decider will be Tyson’s first Group final and he’ll be doing it with a dog he bred as well.
“I owned and raced the mum Prancing Tiger. She’s thrown almost half a million dollars of stakes winners now and is still sitting here on the lounge next to me so it would be very exciting to win this race,” Tyson said.
“The guys I train her for – the Zahra boys – are really good guys too so it’d be great for them as well. Generally her racing patterns means she needs to be near the front to win but in the heats she came from off the pace and we were pleasantly surprised with that,” Tyson said.
Elsewhere in the final field, the Joe McFadyen-trained Hurricane’s Fury will jump from Box 1 and comes out of the semi-finals of the recent Ladbrokes Group 1 Golden Easter Egg series. He ran fifth in his semi-final behind Baby Jaycee and fellow Taree Cup finalist Ritza Donna.
Robell Magic for Ben Ellis is the outsider of the field with 11 race wins from her 54 career starts. She qualified for the decider after finishing 3.75 lengths behind Cataclysmic in the heats and will start in Box 3.
Ritza Donna needs no introduction as the only Group 1 winner in the field thanks to her 2021 Dapto Megastar triumph. She won her heat last start after finishing eighth in the Ladbrokes G1 Golden Easter Egg final behind Simply Limelight.
Medowie local Martin Bowe will rug up Big Boy Wilson who is the most lightly raced of the finalists. He’s only had the nine race starts and took out the 2023 Robert Smith Memorial Maiden series at The Gardens earlier this year.
And Shayne Stiff will send around Return Mac for just his second start at Taree. The son of Fernando Bale x Caitlyn Keeping finished behind Reel ‘Em Bluey in the heats and has drawn Box 7 for the final.
