Minnie Finn has never had a runner in the age-restricted Masters Meteor but after relaunching the careers of two aging speed machines, she could have a strong hand when the 2025 series rolls around in October.
Former Ladbrokes 715 and Group 1 winner Zipping Orlando and the supremely talented Zipping Strop have both returned to racing in the last month after length layoffs, with the pair dominant winners at Richmond overnight.
Zipping Orlando was electric early in his third Masters start back from retirement, with the winner of more than $840,000 in career earnings running them into the ground over 401m in a BON effort of 22.49.
It was the 23rd career race win for the son of Zipping Garth, with Finn “pretty happy” to have him back at the track.
“His last start was in the Country Classic last year but he hurt himself so we retired him,” Finn said.
“But he just wouldn’t let down like most dogs do when they finish up…he just wanted to run all the time. [Zipping] Kyrgios just wanders around the place and really settled down when he finished. Orlando was just a different kettle of fish.
“I tried him in the house with Kyrgios but they didn’t like each other so he had to go back outside. We’ve got 200 metre yards besides our straight tracks and every time we’d go out there to work other dogs, there he was just running and running and being silly and carrying on.
“We knew we had to something different with him because he was driving us insane.”
Finn and Courtney Barnes with Zipping Orlando after his famous Ladbrokes 715 win
Finn calling owner Marty Hallinan with a solution.
“I rang Marty and told him I was going to race Orlando again. He said “if he’s fit and healthy, do what you like”,” she added.
“I was trialling him at Richmond and Gosford and he was trialling quicker than when he raced and he looks as good now as he did when he won The 715…his coats shining and he’s bouncing around, he’s in perfect race condition.”
A comeback 14 months in the making and now gaining momentum with every run.
“In his first start back he never got a good crack at them. I put him up the straight second up for a bit of conditioning even though he’s not a straight dog and he went well,” Finn said.
“Now he’s won over 400 and we want to get him to the Masters Meteor over 500 by October.”
And it’s a similar story for kennelmate Zipping Strop – dog Finn believes had the chasing world at his feet before suffering similar injury woes to Orlando.
“He’s a half-brother to Zipping Kyrgios and if he didn’t break his hock when he was a pup, he could have been anything this dog,” Finn said.
“His brother, Zipping Caleb, ran into him in the Phil Davis Memorial heats at Richmond in the back end of 2023 and that cost him six months.
Zipping Strop is a son of Flying Ricciardo x Zipping Lilly and now has 16 wins from 34 starts
“When he was young, he was close to breaking the record over 500 at Richmond and even when he came back, he was still flying.”
Strop winning four on the bounce in his initial return from injury in March of 2024, with two BON efforts at Maitland taking his record at the time to eight wins from 11 starts.
The remainder of 2024 wasn’t as prolific though, with a stopper tendon issue bringing him undone again just before Christmas.
Finn eventually getting him back to the track, with last night’s win his third in five starts in 2025.
“His win last night was super and he ran 17.80, which is a tenth of a second outside the track record,” Finn said.
“He’s got to stay together but he turns four on October 6 and the heats of the Masters Meteor are on October 9 so he’ll just sneak in. He’s a 600m dog when he’s fully fit so 500 will be no issue.
“Between him and Orlando, they’re two pretty handy chances if they stay sound.”
Group 1 placegetter, Zipping Chaplin, is also on the comeback from injury and returned in a trial up the Richmond Straight today for Finn and Courtney Barnes.
The Masters Meteor is run concurrently to the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase carnival and is the premier feature event for greyhounds who are four years of age or older.
