Courtesy of www.thedogs.com.au

Golden Final for Easter Egg
Written by: Peter Davis 04/04/09


On a day when a Golden Slipper was fitted to a Queenslander at Rosehill Gardens, greyhound racing’s elite sprinters moved from pretender to contender via four semi finals of the Group One Nice Products Golden Easter Egg at Wentworth Park.

2008 Australian Greyhound of the Year El Galo had the final say in the qualifying process and, from box one, the issue was never in doubt. His usual flawless start enabled a four length break to be established at the first turn and the early section of 5.39s was, surprisingly, not the fastest of the night.

Through the catching pen, youngster True Kihael worked to second and, for just a few strides, looked capable of making it a real contest but his backer’s spirits were only fleetingly lifted. In the end, fellow Victorian Spiral Glory reeled-in True Kihael in the latter stages to finish second and secure the final place in next Saturday’s $150,000 to the winner final.

In running 29.88s, El Galo’s time was well outside his previous best at the track (29.60s) but the offering was consummate.

Earlier the Dapto Leagues Club Maiden winner Did I Entertain continued his evolution from handy youngster to a serious rough-and-tumble top grade sprinter with a career best 29.89s win in the opening semi.

The brindle dog began safely enough from box two and held the inside running to the first turn, thwarting Dana Tiger’s effort to take the vanguard position. Once clear, he posted a smart 13.89s to the 720m boxes and, by the time Radio Star worked to second, Did I Entertain had established a clear break and was untroubled to score by 3 1/4 lengths in a smart 29.89s.

Brislane – Radio Star’s younger three quarter sister – rallied to finish third, albeit 6 1/2 lengths from the dominant victor. Radio Star was game in defeat but his lack of early dash played into Did I Entertain’s favour. In the end, the best two dogs in the opening semi evolved into Golden Easter Egg finalists.

Twenty minutes later it was Miss Elly Mint’s time to shine and the brilliant speedster put her rivals to the sword in a display of remarkable speed.

A perfect start from box eight saw the Hunter Valley-based flyer quickly ahead of a quality line-up. Her first section (5.35s) was only .09s outside Bright Ebony’s long standing record while her run to the 720m boxes (13.77s) missed El Galo’s standard by only 0.13s. At the wire, she had 1 1/4 lengths to spare over a late-closing Cool Flight - again in 29.89s - while National Distance Champion Mantra Lad made ground along the rails to snare third place right on the line, narrowly ahead of Tricode Flojo.

Perth Cup finalist Joanne Monelli finished a particularly courageous second – from the unsuitable eight alley - to Tyson Magic in a 30.04s heat on March 28. Tonight, she darted out of box three and dominated semi final three in a sizzling 29.76s. Her first and second sections (5.52, 13.95) were the slowest of the four semis but her strength at the finish outstripped all others on a night of racing at the elite level.

The West Australian had 4 1/2 lengths to spare over Bathurst Cup winner Dana Beatrice while reigning Geelong Cup champion Birthday Boy was a further length away in third place. The vanquished included Group One winner Size Can Matter. He was poorly away from box one and never a factor.

In the end, each of the four semi final winners comfortably broke the 30 seconds barrier and the ‘slowest’ of the four runner’s up registered 30.12s.

The Golden Easter Egg was first run in 1990 and this 20th running of the feature boasts the strongest, neigh fastest, field ever assembled. Champions dominate the Golden Easter Egg honour role and it will take a performance of a champion to prevail this time. In 1990, Wentworth Park was bursting at the seams the night Ultra Sense won the inaugural Golden Easter Egg. If the famous Ultimo track is ever to be so populated again, it will be on Easter Saturday, April 11, 2009 … as this contest will be something to behold.

The box draw for the 2009 Group One Nice Products Golden Easter Egg Final is:

1 Miss Elly Mint
2 Dana Beatrice
3 Joanne Monelli
4 El Galo
5 Radio Star
6 Spiral Glory
7 Did I Entertain
8 Cool Flight

True Kihael and Birthday Boy (in order) are the reserves.