QUEENSLAND’S best distance and sprint chasers have booked their spots in the National Greyhound Racing Finals, with Red Dirt Road and Cumbria Jack sealing state championship glory in emphatic style.
Red Dirt Road cemented his dominance in the staying ranks last week, powering home to win the Queensland Distance Championship Final over 710m at Q2 Parklands.
The Space Star x Shiny Bright chaser settled mid-pack before swinging wide and surging past kennel mate Light of Mine to score by 0.75 lengths.
The victory followed his Group 3 Origin Greyhound Series Distance Final triumph in June over the same track and trip, taking his career record to 41 starts for 20 wins, six seconds and four thirds, with nearly $300,000 in prize money.
The Tim Britton-trained star will now represent Queensland in the National Distance Final on August 30.
In the sprint ranks, Cumbria Jack produced a sizzling display to take out the Queensland Sprint Championship Final over 520m, continuing an incredible run of six consecutive wins.
Trained by Tony Brett, the rising star has now won 13 of 18 career starts and is Brett’s seventh Queensland finalist in the Group 1 National Sprint.
“Jack has pulled up fantastic,” Brett said.
“It was a massive win against such a good field. Many dogs don’t always back up after breaking a track record the week prior, but he just keeps improving. I think this year’s National Field is going to be one of the best we’ve seen.”
Cumbria Jack will face a strong line-up in the National Sprint Final.
Luke Thompson, handler of Tim Zoo and Flying Zulu, said his family kennel’s pair were ready to fire.
“They’re the two most credentialed dogs in the field, having raced in big events for over 18 months now. They’re just super dogs,” he said.
Queensland Greyhound Racing Club Chair David Nugent praised the effort of staff in delivering the State Finals.
“After the disappointment of the abandoned Brisbane Cup and Queensland Cup, these results give fans plenty to cheer about,” he said.
