More Grafton Glory For Grundy

Is there a more in-form dog running around in NSW at the moment than Badger's Beast?

The reigning Thunderbolt champion picked up where he left off in the Northern Rivers a month ago by taking out the Ladbrokes Group 3 Grafton Cup in fine fashion.

The son of Beast Unleashed x Isla’s Style careering away from a talented final field to claim the $25,000 final in a sharp time of 24.98.

“We couldn’t be happier, I’m brimming, I’m smiling ear to ear,” trainer Peter Lagogiane said post-race.

“It’s a huge effort to come out, travel eight hours up the highway with a dog like him, he’s got a character to die for, he’s got a will to win, he’s got a heart as big as Phar Lap this dog.

The win set up with another flying first section time of 8.87, with placegetters Tracker (2.5 lengths) and Fire Me Up (5.25) chasing nothing but tail throughout the 450m feature.

Badger’s Beast improving his record to 25 wins from 38 starts and nearly $130,000 in prizemoney. 

“He’s an advertisement for greyhound racing, he’s a bopper mate, he’s like a wine…he gets better with age,” Lagogiane added.

“As as soon as I pulled up today, Jason Mackay said it was the best Grafton cup he’s ever seen and he’s been seeing it for a long, long, time. I’ve got to thank the team at home and Jorja [Howard] who loves the dog.”

The obvious question now, is the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase a target for the dog who has won nine of his last 10 starts for owner Dave Grundy.

“I’d be mad to say no…but let’s see,” Lagogiane added.

Earlier in the evening, Jack Jack put his name up in lights as a dog to watch in the back half of 2025 with a resounding win in the rich and annual Grafton maiden.

The Mark Farrugia-prepared runner proving a class above to win well in a time of 25.25, with Zipping Arkle and Unruly Boy claiming the minors.

“When they began, the 1 sort of wanted to get off a bit and was giving him a bit of a check but he just kept driving through and kept going…once he got to the front I was pretty confident he was gonna keep going,” Farrugia said.

“He’s been schooled around Goulburn and Bulli and come up to Grafton…I was actually going to go to Goulburn [for the Zoom Top] but he was just sort of pretty much right now and I didn’t want to wait anymore so I decided to come up to Grafton for the maiden race up here instead which was the right decision tonight.”

Connections now eyeing off the inaugural GRNSW Puppy Classic race series at Richmond in November.

“I’d like to win the Richmond Auction Race…he’ll just probably head off to Bulli now and try to win a few of a his grade races and then we’ll start schooling him around Richmond and see how we go,” he added.

“This is his second 450m but I don’t think he’ll have any dramas running the 500 out so I think we should have a little bit of a fun with him. He was worth every penny [we spent at auction].”

In the night’s other big event, Mark Moroney and Goldmine Fire took out the Stayers Cup from kennelmate Firethorn.

The win coming 24 years after Moroney won the same title with Fire Cape in 1991.

“Fire cape was our best dog and this stayers cup is close to our heart,” Moroney said.

“All my families from Grafton…we donated the trophy back a couple of years ago and since we donated it, we’ve won the last two. 

“Goldmine Fire is a really reliable dog, he’s a good beginner and he just does a lot right. He trialled brilliantly post to post last Friday…he broke the record and Firethorn was just outside what he ran. It was a fantastic effort from both of them.”

The established mentor eyeing a trip to Wentworth Park to prepare his duo for a crack at the NSW National Distance title.

“[The Nationals] has been the plan all along, even before tonight, to take them to Wentworth Park and give them a trial down there,” he added.

“If they can qualify for NSW, they’ll go back to QLD [for the National finals] where they’ve done most of their racing.”