By MICHAEL FLOYD
BANJO Boy set tongues wagging at Sandown Park last Thursday night when he blitzed an outstanding line-up to record the second-fastest time ever run at the circuit.
Sent to the boxes a $2.60 favourite, the white and black chaser jumped only fairly but soon mustered speed to power to the lead. From there he was never challenged, carving out brilliant splits and eventually stopping the clock at a stunning 29.01 seconds. His time was less than a length outside of Bekim Bale’s two-year-old track record of 28.96.
“I’ve been in the game for 35 years,” said trainer Ken Virtue.
“I’ve had a few fast dogs and run second in a Melbourne Cup and won Traralgon and Cranbourne Cups, but this dog is something else.”
Banjo Boy burst onto the scene, winning his first five starts, and has posted slick times at Sandown Park, the Meadows, Healesville, Ballarat and Cranbourne. However his inconsistency at box rise has seen him salute in just two of his last nine starts, a trait Virtue believes his charge can overcome with further experience.
“Everyone who’s seen him knows how quick he is, but that’s the risk you take when backing him – his first 10 yards,” Virtue said.
“I think he’s just over excited on race day.
“I’m hoping with a few races closer together he’ll settle down a bit, and after 25 or 30 starts he could become a serious race dog.”
Thursday’s win was his 10th victory from just 18 career starts, taking his prize money to $36,215. But Virtue has far bigger goals in mind – namely the biggest race on the greyhound calendar, the $500,000 TAB Melbourne Cup.
“He did his early education at the track (Sandown Park) and some very good judges said then I have a potential Cup’s dog,” Virtue said.
“His entire preparation is being geared towards that race, so he will probably run in a Prelude this Thursday night to qualify him, then focus on being right for the heats.”
The heats for the 2013 TAB Melbourne Cup will be run on Thursday 14 November, with the final run the following week.
