Omen bets, odds and info for the 2016 greyhounds Melbourne Cup

APPROXIMATELY twenty-nine seconds will stand between one canine and greyhound racing immortality this Friday night when the lids fly open for the 2016 Group 1 Melbourne Cup at Sandown Park.

Much like its horse racing counterpart, the Melbourne Cup is the most sought after trophy in the sport of greyhound racing.

Worth $420,000 to the winner, it is officially the world’s most lucrative greyhound event, with some of the greatest chasers to have ever graced the racetrack appearing on the event’s honour roll since its inception back in 1956.

The favourite to take out this year’s event is champion sprinter Zambora Brockie at +120 with William Hill.

Trained by Anthony Azzopardi, the brilliant black dog won his heat last week in 29.06 – just 0.11 of a second outside the track record over 515m at Sandown Park.

Having turned three in September, Zambora Brockie is at his peak age racing-wise and comes into Friday’s event having won 28 of his 45 starts, including five group races.

Notably, his sire is Nitro Burst who ran third in the 2008 Melbourne Cup behind Surgeon.

Almost ominously, Nitro Burst started from box three in the Melbourne Cup, the same box Zambora Brockie has drawn this Friday.

However, Zambora Brockie’s paternal grandsire is Bombastic Shiraz, a greyhound which won the 2003 Melbourne Cup and the ‘lead-up’ event at Sandown Park, the Sandown Shootout, a race which Zambora Brockie claimed last month.

Can Brockie follow in Bombastic Shiraz’s footsteps?

Outside Pass is the greyhound bookmakers believe is the biggest threat to the favourite. The Queensland bitch won her heat in a breathtaking 29.13 last week, a time which is sure to put her in contention for the major prize at $6.

The only female in the field, Outside Pass will become just the 13th bitch to have won the Melbourne Cup if she is successful on Friday night, the last having been the Jason Thompson-trained Got A Moment in 2012.

Outside Pass will be joined in the final by another Queenslander in Tripum, a son of Collision and Surin’ Sal which has drawn box four for Darren Russell.

Ando’s Mac will be the sole NSW representative in the big race, with the Jason Mackay-trained powerhouse having won his heat in 29.69. He will jump from box five and will be aiming to emulate the feat of his sire, El Grand Senor, who won the 2010 Melbourne Cup.

If Ando’s Mac can salute on Friday night, he will become just the 12th greyhound from the first state to claim victory, the last being Go Wild Teddy 16 years ago.

Ando’s Mac is currently a +900 shot with William Hill to land the Cup, with the win set to add to his stunning win in the Group 1 Vic Peters Classic at Wentworth Park last month.

Box two has won two out of the past three Melbourne Cup finals (Dyna Double One 2015, Black Magic Opal 2013) and Cameron Butcher will be hoping that trend continues when he puts the black and white stretch vest on his charge, Worm Burner.

The brindle dog scored an emphatic 29.30 heat win here last week off box four and will be striving to secure his second group 1, having won the Group 1 National Championship, for his sire Oaks Road who sadly passed away last week.

Barton Bale will represent team Shillington/Wheeler in the final, with the son of Vee Man Vane and Darya Bale owned by leviathan owner-breeder Paul Wheeler.

Wheeler has won the last two editions of the feature, having owned and bred Dyna Double One and Dyna Villa in 2015 and 2014 respectively.

Wheeler also won the Melbourne Cup in 2011 with Dyna Tron and in 1999 with former champion Kantarn Bale.

Jesaulenko will start from box eight in the Cup for trainer Terri Morris and he comes into the final on the back of three successive wins including his 29.31 heat at Sandown Park.

Interestingly, Jesaulenko is the track record holder at Traralgon, having broken the time standard set by Fernando Bale last year, with ‘Flying Fernando’ having run second in the 2015 Melbourne Cup behind his kennel-mate, Dyna Double One.

Rounding out the field is Matt Machine which will jump from box seven as the outsider. The black dog is a son of American sire SH Avatar and will be aiming to go one better than fellow ‘half-American’ Fernando Bale, who was sired by Kelsos Fusileer.

The Group 1 Melbourne Cup is race eight this Friday night at Sandown Park and will jump at 9:08pm.

Group 1 Melbourne Cup – market

1 – Barton Bale $7
2 – Worm Burner $8.50
3 – Zambora Brockie +120
4 – Tripum $15
5 – Ando’s Mac $10
6 – Outside Pass $6
7 – Matt Machine $41
8 – Jesaulenko $7.50

1st Res – Blazin’ Bomber $9.50
2nd Res – Bruce Tycoon $34