Last week he caused a minor upset by knocking off the pre-post favorite for the Final in Zipper On Time in 29.26. The run was super as Zipper had every chance and Valenzuela proved the stronger greyhound over the final stages. Has the coveted red box which is an advantage and only needs to hold up early to be one of the main chances.

This lightly raced pup who has won 50% of his starts for the ever conquering Jessica Hopkins camp won his heat brilliantly last week in 29.14 beating the evergreen champ in Schillaci by over 3 lengths. If he produces those box manners again, he will have the necessary speed to get in front of the red dog at the first corner although he can be tardy to begin at times. If he does it all right, he will be in the finish.

Drew perfectly last week and held them all out to the first corner to run away with a 5 length victory in the fastest heat win of the night in 29.07. This boy came back from the 600m to win that heat and the old McDonald magic was on show again. If he can hold a position early on, you know he will run home strongly and is a definite threat.

Jumped well from this box in her heat and held them all off to win by a nose over her more fancied rivals last week. She ran 5.01 to the first corner which is very good and she does have that early speed in her kit bag. She could cause some grief to the inside runners if she does that again. If she does find the lead, she can run a nice race although others should be stronger at the line.

This smart girl from the Kayla Cottrell kennel has only missed a podium finish on three occasions from her 26 career starts. She won the Launching Pad here earlier in the year in blistering fashion and has come on plenty since then. Last week she was carted wide at the first corner and may have had some luck with the leader going amiss but she still ran 29.24 after finding trouble. With luck in running, she can win.

Has been a very consistent puppy having only missed a placing once in her last 12 starts. She won the last heat from the red box in 29.28 after jumping well and leading predominantly all the way. Can be slightly hit or miss at box rise but is racing very well and did run third to Zipper On Time from this same draw in The Laurels final a couple of weeks back. Could be a blow out chance.

A very young dog who has only had the 16 starts out of the legendary Aston Rupee who ran 4th in this race back in 2021. He flew out of the boxes last week, running a first split of 4.93 and held on well to win by 1.6 lengths over Colac Kid. He is a big dog weighing in at over 33kgs and that could cause some carnage if he was to come crashing down. Has definite each-way claims.

Not many greyhounds have qualified to run in a Melbourne Cup, Brisbane Cup, Million Dollar Chase, Townsville Cup, a Temlee and also The Phoenix but this boy has done all that over the past 12 months for the Tom Tzouvelis camp. He won his heat coming from behind in 29.25. Although on paper the pink box will be hard to win from, he will get clear air early at box rise and if there is any trouble early on, he may very well get the jump on them. One to consider at a double figure price.

Came into the heats last week as the top seed to win the Cup this year after a soft win in The Laurels a week earlier but was run down by Valenzuela after leading until the shadows. If he gained a run, especially from an inside alley he would be a danger again but he would need to lift his times marginally.

Started a $3.80 favorite in Daysea’s Rory’s heat and ran home powerfully from back in the field for second, beaten just over a length. If he did get a start, he would need to jump better than he usually does but he is a very consistent money spinner, who gives his all each and every run.

Like DASHING SLAY (5) who although is drawn awkwardly in the yellow, she is the best greyhound in the race. If the blue does get out as expected, it could make the race for Dashing Slay and she would be a very deserving winner. There are plenty of hopes in what is a very open affair this year, as the inside boxes have a great record in the race and the heats did prove that theory. Throw in VALENZUELA (1) as the main danger as he should get the perfect run through early on and as a roughie include DAYSEA’S RORY (8) just in case there is any trouble at the first corner.