Trengove, Crypto Monelli hunting Distance spot
Epic Night Awaits As South Australians Chase a Nationals Berth
Arguably one of the best nights on the greyhound racing calendar gets underway on Thursday night, with the South Australian Sprint and Distance Championship Finals being held.
An exciting series which is held each year, the winners from Thursday night will go on to represent the state in three weeks time on finals night, where they will compete against the winners from every other state at the Angle Park circuit.
The first final will be the distance event, which is run over 730m. A strong field has been assembled with a mix of exciting young talent and experienced campaigners lining up.
Crypto Monelli, who is trained by Clint Trengove, will be looking to score one of his biggest career wins, when he lines up on Thursday night. Since arriving in South Australia back in May, the son of Fernando Bale and Penny Monelli has been a model of consistency, running 11 races and only missing a place once, whilst scoring five victories.
On Sunday, he went around Mount Gambier and was completely dominant, winning by a massive nine lengths in a fast 43.21. Prior to that, he had scored some fast wins elsewhere, having won in 37.28 at Gawler and 43.03 at Angle Park. It’s form which hasn’t surprised Trengove, given the strength of his Western Australian form.
“He turns four in September, I knew he was a good dog, he won $70,000 in Western Australia, he came over a bit banged up and battered around so we just had to straighten him up, but he does most of the work himself.” said Trengove
“It was pretty good (his win last week). They reckon the track was off by .2 or .3 of a second.”
In an intriguing race, Zipping Neutron will likely start as one of the favourites from box one, with the up and coming star Zinfandel Trace set to challenge as one of the other favourites, as she races past 530m for the first time. Crypto Monelli is more than good enough to win the race, but Trengove laments his chaser drawing an unsuitable box seven and he concedes that would need plenty of luck to win the race.
“I don’t think he’s got much of a chance out there in box seven. Last Monday night he was in a weaker field and missed the start but came away with them, but he head butted the boxes and took a chunk out of his head. He got 13 or 14 lengths behind and only got beat by four lengths, but in slow time.” said Trengove
“He’s an inside dog, he’s got to find the rail.”
“I don’t think he will cross those younger dogs, Zipping Neutron from the red is boxed to win the race.”
Best Bets:
Canya Extreme (Race 2, Number 1)
Kruger Lass (Race 9, Number 2)