The 2023 edition of the GRNSW Southern Stars series will kick off on Tuesday afternoon with a raft of top line chasers, including She’s A Pearl, headlining the first group of heats at Temora.
Gun Victorians Salad Dodger and Landyn Bale will make the trip North, while Chief Havoc Cup winner Street Of Dreams, 2023 Temora Cup placegetter Wiradjuri Jack and emerging talent Nyali King are also engaged across two red-hot heats.
One-time Temora track record holder, Salad Dodger, returns to the Riverina circuit for the first time since finishing second behind She’s A Pearl in the Cup earlier this year.
Trainer Anthony Azzopardi confident his son of Whiskey Riot can make the most of a plumb Box 1 draw.
“He’s absolutely airborne at the moment and he loves the red (where he’s a six-time winner from eight starts). He’s won four on the trot since he came back from a spell and he just loves Temora,” Azzopardi said.
“I trialled him at Goulburn last week as well and he went super so I thought I’d try and qualify him through Temora and take a few others to the Goulburn heats next week. Landyn Bale (trained by Mark Delbridge) will be hard to beat, he’s a quality greyhound and he won well on Thursday night at Sandown running a 4.99 split early which is just phenomenal,” he added.
The Delbridge family launching a three-pronged attack on the Southern Stars series this year as Mark and Lisa target the rich and relatively new feature race with Landyn Bale, Nyali King and Cawbourne Domino.
“We thought we’d go to Temora to try and qualify but once we saw the fields, we both thought we’d chosen the wrong track,” Lisa Delbridge laughed in reference to the strength of the opposition.
“But we are looking forward to it. Landyn Bale has been flying out of the boxes and if he can begin like he has been from Box 5, he might be ok. In saying that, every time we’ve gone interstate, he’s missed the start,” Lisa said.
“He won in 29.45 at Sandown on Thursday and he doesn’t get run down too often with his strong finishing ability. Blue Demon caught him two starts back but he’s a machine and we all know Amron Boy is a star so there’s no shame in going down to him,” she said.
The matriarch of the Delbridge kennel a little more hopeful than confident with her younger pair of runners.
“Nyali King [Heat 1] won a Pink Diamond series and has good early pace. I’m happy with her out wide and she’s in career best form. I suppose there’s a question mark on whether she can finish off strong on the Temora track, she might struggle with the long straight,” Lisa said.
“And Cawbourne Domino [Heat 2] has been off injured and is just coming back but he trialled super so we thought we’d take him along for the ride. Box 8 doesn’t help because he’s mad for the fence so no favours there, but he’s strong as an ox,” she added.
Speaking of strong, Street Of Dreams for Jay Opetaia will step from Box 7 to add further depth to the opening heat.
“It’s a really hard race but we’re taking him there because we think the brutal uphill, long straight will suit him. It showed last week that he hadn’t raced there before so we expect him to improve a bit into the heat,” Opetaia said.
The reigning Chief Havoc Cup winner enjoying a breakout year for the 19-year-old Opetaia, and now looking to add to his career prizemoney total of more than $109,000.
“He’s made three group finals this year to show he’s up to the class. He’s run some pretty hot dogs down, he’s won a few free for all’s at Wenty, he won the Chief Havoc Cup and he was pretty impressive in the heat of the Brother Fox. This series might not suit him being 450m or so on a horseshoe track, but he’s a fast dog and the long straights could help him out,” Opetaia added.
Street Of Dreams and Jay Opetaia claimed the 2023 Chief Havoc Cup to hand the youngster his first Group success as a trainer
The second heat features the queen of NSW chasing, She’s A Pearl, with trainer Andy Lord hopeful his superstar bitch will enjoy a return to one of her favourite venues.
“She’s good and ready to go. She did all her early racing around Temora and she hasn’t been beaten too many times there,” Lord said.
Only twice as a matter of fact, with seven race starts producing five wins, including a pair of Temora Cup victories.
‘The Pearl’ still classed as a “week-to-week” proposition for Lord and connections as an inevitable breeding career beckons.
“We’re not busting her and I’d much prefer to retire her when she comes on season. It seems to be easier to let them down that way compared to when they’re in full race mode. Coast Model would sit at the front of the kennel ready to go to the track before we bred with her but then she came on season and we didn’t waste any time. We don’t want to leave Pearl lying around doing nothing,” Lord said.
“And the race is worth $50,000 so you’ve got to have a go,” he added.
Yass local Neil Staines welcoming the immense challenge facing his kennel star, Wiradjuri Jack.
“It’s a hard heat but any race ‘The Pearl’ goes around in is going to be tough. If she gets her own way out in front then look out, but my guy is boxed well and she could help him spring out. Plus Temora is his track (seven starts for three wins and three minors),” Staines said.
“He [Wiradjuri Jack] was a bit unlucky in the Sprinters Cup final at Grafton. He missed the kick a bit and Impress Dressel used a bit of the track which got him off the fence. He got back their eventually and it probably cost him a place but he never would have beaten the winner,” he added.
The second edition of the Southern Stars series will be held across three venues again this year, with Temora kicking things off on July 18, while Wagga and Goulburn will also host heats on July 21.
Each heat winner (plus fastest seconds depending on the number of heats at each track) will advance to the $50,000-to-the-winner final to be held at Goulburn on July 28.
Aston Barak won the inaugural edition of the race in 2022 for Jason Fletcher.
2022 Southern Stars Winner Aston Barak with Jason Fletcher
