Above: Successful trainer Darren McDonald, with owners Fab Mastropasqua, Matt Coles and Dave Bussutil, are happy winners after Cool Effort saluted in the $70,000 Shootout last Thursday night at Sandown Park. By Brad Kingsbury
MASTER greyhound trainer Darren McDonald collected the entire $75,000 prize money offered for last Thursday’s Sport 927 Group 2 Shootout when his two runners in the four-dog field finished one-two in the night’s feature race.
Race favourite Cool Effort took out the 515-metre sprint in 29.71 seconds, earning $70,000 for his trouble, while Shanlyn Prince from box 5 railed through to grab second place over Betty’s Angel and Miss Hot Gossip to take home a $5000 cheque.
In a crowd-pleasing race, the four champion greyhounds began together and entered the first turn almost level before McDonald’s white speed machine took the lead and was never headed.
Betty’s Angel and Miss Hot Gossip had a protracted bumping duel over the first 200m while Shanlyn Prince dropped behind them by a length, but the race was over in the back straight when Cool Effort opened up a five-length break.
Shanlyn Prince was brave in defeat and McDonald said afterwards that had the box draw been reversed, the placings may have been as well.
“Box draws probably win these races and had it been the other way around the result probably would have been reversed,” he said.
“I think Shanlyn Prince was a tremendous run. He was last at one stage and did a super job to run second, but I always thought that Cool Effort was the one to beat.”
It was Cool Effort’s second Group 2 win in as many starts, his previous win coming in the Geelong Cup in October.
McDonald said the greyhound was set specifically for the race for about two months and would progress to the Melbourne Cup heats tonight (Thursday).
“We opted not to go to Sydney for the Paws of Thunder in favour of this race. He runs so well at this track,” he said.
“I took him to Brisbane and he didn’t travel that well, so I just said to the owners to give him a let up and a light preparation to try and have him right for the next three weeks. You’re never too confident in these big races, but that’s his biggest win to date.”
Young owners Fab Mastropasqua, Matt Coles and Dave Bussutil who make up the ‘Cool Three’ syndicate, were over the moon, and described McDonald as the best trainer in Australia after the victory.
Cool Effort has now won 22 races from 39 starts and seven from 10 at the Lightwood Road circuit, earning career prize money of $159,190.
McDonald became the first multiple Shootout-winning trainer following Bond’s outstanding track record win in 2005. He said he hoped to have six runners in the Melbourne Cup heats with Nitro Nori, All Caution, Bye Bye Bones and Hot To Rumble joining Shanlyn Prince and Cool Effort among the cup final hopefuls tonight.
