Jason Lyne, Nick Majer and Steve Fitch will fly the flag for NSW at The Meadows this weekend in pursuit of one of the sport’s biggest paydays.
Lyne and Majer – based in Orange and Sydney respectively - run the aptly named Citycountry syndicate and own dual Group 1 winner Slick Splits.
The rising sprinter, trained by Victorians Tom and Andrea Dailly, will jump from Box 1 in Saturday night’s million-dollar final at The Meadows after being the first name called in the unique pick-your-own box draw system.
Lyne admitting the choice wasn’t a straight-forward one for connections.
“I’ll be honest, Nick and I initially thought Box 3 would suit him best. He’s not a wide runner but he just takes half a step right in the run to the winning post,” Lyne said.
“Then I spoke to Tom [Dailly] who trains the dog and he said if you can draw Box 1 in a big race, you’ve always got a good chance.”
Winning connections of Slick Split after his victory in the Topgun. Photo: Clint Anderson
“I’m not unhappy with the draw at all…if he comes out the way he can, he’ll make it hard for them to cross them and we’ll have a good idea after 30 metres.”
“We were all sort of waiting to see where Mallee Beauty drew because we knew we wanted to get under her. In the end, Cumbria Jack got the second pick so it might be lucky we got Box 1 because he would be unbeatable from the inside.”
Lyne confident his charge is ready to rock and roll after a minor mishap in his last race start at Sandown back on November 14.
“He’s going fantastic. He got it in the catching pen after he won at Sandown and we thought he fractured his shoulder,” Lyne added.
“Tom got an x-ray and he was all clear but we thought we’d give him a rest and he could tell us when he was ready to go again. After a week, Tom called me and said the dog was jumping out of his skin so he put him in the working runs and he went like a demon.”
“He trialled at The Meadows on Monday and went virtually the same time to what he ran winning the Topgun so he’s ready.”
The son of Feral Franky x Foxy Bourbski already a 13-time winner from 23 starts with both his Maturity and Topgun sprint titles coming at The Meadows.
Lyne “excited, stoked and privileged” to be lining up in The Phoenix with a dog whose name came about during a routine recreational walk.
Slick Splits (9) on his way to victory. Photo: Clint Anderson
“My partner [Louise] and I were out walking one day and had our strava app on and one of us said to the other “that was a slick split” and we thought that was a good name that would challenge the race callers,” he laughed.
“I’ve had all the ‘Bourbski’ dogs in the past and that name will continue. I’ll never forget the night Bourbski Fever won the Bold Trease, Dusty Bourbski was the Victorian Sprint champion, and Sunset Bourbski was a star in her own right as well…Slick Splits is just next level though.”
And if Slick Splits can’t win The Phoenix - NSW chasing fans should be cheering for Cumbria Jack and Eriza Sparkles from the Nowra-based kennel of Steve Fitch.
The star pair have had a 2025 to remember with Cumbria Jack claiming the Group 1 National Sprint title before equalling the Wentworth Park 520m track record.
While Eriza Sparkles chalked up a Group 1 win of her in the last ever Ladbrokes Dapto Megastar before running second in the Topgun behind Slick Splits.
“From all reports, everything is spot on. Josh Formosa has had ‘Jack’ and Harley Whelan has Eriza Sparkles. I’ve written down plans on when they usually trial and what work they have and both boys have their views and we ‘ve come up with a happy medium,” Fitch said ahead of Saturday.
“’Jack’ has been set to peak on Saturday night. He’s had four trials since the break, building back up to 500m and he went 29.5 in his first look at The Meadows a few weeks ago. Whatever the record is, he’s capable of running that but in a field like The Phoenix, I just want him to get clean air.”
Steve Fitch with Eriza Sparkles after the Ladbrokes Dapto Megastar victory
“And it’s pretty simple for Eriza Sparkles, she needs to lead to win. She’s star…but Cumbria Jack is a freak and could come from anywhere if he had to.”
The Phoenix will be run this Saturday night in Race 10 on the card at The Meadows.
