Preview: Ladbrokes Country Classic

Who will join Zipping Kyrgios and Showman Jack as a Ladbrokes Country Classic champion? Here’s our preview of the final, including The Hounds tip to claim the $125,000 prize:

Great story. The dog was purchased by the Rylands for a pretty moderate price and now gets to race for $125K (which is almost triple his career earnings of $42,630). Not only that, but he also gives Helen much-needed purpose and joy after her husband Brian passed away from cancer four years ago. Big Thunder has been the biggest box draw beneficiary of the series with Box 2 in the Richmond heat, followed by the cherry in last week’s semi-final. Now he draws Box 1 again and even though he wants to use a bit of the track, the sluggish Palawa King in Box 3 means he could have a bit of room to move in the opening exchanges. His form for much of 2023 was moderate at best but he did do most of his racing on the U-turn tracks of Maitland, Temora and Goulburn over the shorter trips. A step up to middle distance seems to have been the making of him though with his five starts over 600m producing a win and four seconds. Both winners of the Ladbrokes Country Classic jumped from Box 1.

Jay Opetaia said earlier in the series that Agland Luai only goes at Wentworth Park and Dubbo, and based on last week’s performance, he was spot on. Normally not the most bomb proof beginner, he sprung the lids like a startled antelope and led Big Thunder all the way to the finish line in the second fastest semi-final time. He’s no stranger to big races either with recent appearances in The Collerson and Christmas Gift finals (both sixth), while also qualifying for the 2022 Million Dollar Chase (MDC) and Goulburn Cup deciders (both fourth). A big race scalp has eluded him so far but a Box 2 draw combined with his versatility, his trainer (eight wins from 25 starters in 2024) and his love affair with Dubbo (12: 4-5-0) mean Agland Luai is in this up to his neck. Best each way play in my book.

If you follow the sport, you know this guy is a superstar. If you’re new to the greyhound caper however, here’s what Palawa King has achieved in the last 12 months. He’s won four Group 1 races over the staying trip and finished on the podium in two others. He ran within a length of Zipping Orlando in the final of the world’s richest staying race, ‘The 715’. He raced in five Group 3 finals, winning one and placing in three others. He won the NSW Greyhound Of The Year title for 2023, he made the semi-finals of the 2023 MDC over the sprint trip and he’s won 16 races for connections. In the words of Shayne Stiff, Palawa King is as slow as him in clogs to the first turn, but boy does he have a powerful finish and wonderful race sense to match. If things don’t go his way early, he will probably need every bit of the 605m to win the race…but if he can find a nice position near the rail from Box 3 and get clean air from the catching pen on, he will probably blow them all away.

What to make of race favourite Nangar Rocket? If he began every race like his semi-final, he’d probably be the unquestioned king of middle-distance racing in NSW. He jumped beautifully from Box 2 last weekend and ran them into the ground in the same sort of bold performance that saw him nearly pinch last year’s 715 title. A repeat of the semi-final run (34.62) would win the race as no other dog has broken 34.79 for the track and trip. But beware…he missed the start in his heat at the Gardens by about 10 lengths. If you go back to his final run of 2023 in Queensland, he went down on his nose and was 50m behind by the time the field rounded the first bend. And in his November 24 start at Casino, he seemed to jump OK but stumbled soon after and ended up finishing 12 lengths off the winner. There’s something very Soulcombe-y about him at the moment but there’s no question, his best is brilliant enough to win. It’s just his manners at the start which will make favourite punters very nervous.  

Aston Costello is the sole interstate dog in the race and sadly gets the visitors draw again in Box 5. He will need to find several lengths on his semi-final win (35.26) if he’s to salute in the big one as it was by far and away the slowest of the four preliminaries. The good news is, he ran 34.89 in the heats at Dubbo a week earlier (2.50 lengths off Father Rick) and that time would put him firmly in the finish in this field. It was a very messy and strange semi, with the small field of six certainly helping the winner find some clean air to surge into. This final is different gravy though and with serious speed drawn both inside and out, his best hope may be missing it slightly and trailing Palawa King into the thick of things. Box 5 has produced back to back seventh placings in the Country Classic final and this assignment looks too tough for him.

May be the outsider of the field but he does have pace in a race devoid of any fool proof beginners. Box 6 on a bend start makes it hard to cross obviously but he could find himself in front through the catching pen and if he’s still in front up the back, Jakey White will be drawing the whip a long way from home. Probably not a super genuine 600m greyhound but he does have three wins over the trip and we know it pays to be on speed in big races. He’s been a decent little dog for connections as well with this Ladbrokes Country Classic final now sitting alongside appearances in the 2022 Young Star final, the 2023 MDC semi-finals and the 2023 Bidgee Cup decider. The oldest dog in the field is a long shot for sure but he deserves his spot in the race.

What might have been for Team Finn last week. Minnie probably took three of the top 10 dogs out to Dubbo for the semi-finals in Zipping Orlando, Zipping Caleb and Zipping Ronaldo but things didn’t quite pan out as hoped and Might Have Been was the kennel’s only chaser to qualify for the big dance. And she did it by the skin of her teeth too, pouncing on Nangar Nellie in the shadows of the post to nab second spot in her semi. The daughter of Poco Dorado is part of a pretty successful litter going around at the moment with sister, Gets Late Early, winning the G1 National Futurity in January before brother, Both Bowers Ace, ran second in the G2 Richmond Derby. She might not be on par with them yet and judging by the way she hit the line last week, she could want further. One of only two girls in the race and she’s the youngest in the field so she’ll need a lot of luck to figure from Box 7.

The second Jack Smith runner in the final put up a hell of a fight to push Nangar Rocket all the way last week, only fading late to finish 2.25 lengths off the winner in 34.79. That run was off the back of her Temora track record in the heats so she’s certainly in form, but she’s drawn terribly. Box 8 from the 605m start at Dubbo is tough although Zipping Alabama (2022) and Jackpot Joan (2023) both ran third in this race from the same alley which must give connections a hope. She’s been a handy greyhound in the last 12-months though with a fifth placing in the 2023 MDC and a runners-up finish in the G1 Peter Mosman highlighting her ability. She’s yet to claim a big scalp though, and I don’t think she has enough pace to get across this field and change that narrative on Saturday night.

4. Nangar Rocket

3. Palawa King

1. Big Thunder

7. Might Have Been