Star stayer Rocky bolted his heat of the Sir John Dillon Memorial in at Sandown last week.TRACK specialist Rocky was the fastest heat winner of the Group 2 Sir John Dillon Memorial at Sandown Park last week and will start from the number one box in tonight’s (Thursday’s) final.
The stayer took out his heat by more than five lengths in a smart time of 42.5 seconds. Classy veteran Mid City Mandy overcame a wide box draw to hold out glamour Queensland stayer Miss Brook and win the other heat by a neck in 42.66 seconds. Exciting sprinter Oxley Gazelle upstaged her highly fancied rivals to take out the night’s Bill Collins Memorial.
The event has become an important lead-up race for the Sky Channel Superdog Series, and the runs of the placegetters are sure to be considered when the Topgun field is announced at Sandown Park tonight. Capping off a stellar night’s racing, Running On Bundy took out the inaugural Sky Channel Twin Cities State Final, defeating My Wild Courage by 2.75 lengths.
Earlier in the night, a large crowd saw comedy duo Hamish and Andy’s greyhound Fred Basset make his long-awaited debut. Despite starting a $1.80 favourite, ‘Fred’ finished last.
The field for tonight’s $36,000 Sir John Dillon Memorial over 515m is: 1. Rocky, 2. Turbo Uno, 3. Miss Brook, 4. Red Dusk, 5. Springvale Jinx, 6. Holly Rock, 7. Dubbo Dan, 8. Mid City Mandy. Reserves: 9. Atomic Jet, 10. Elektra.
