Queensland superstar Thirty Talks ($4.80) has won the 2017 Group 2 Pet Panels Geelong Gold Cup (460m) tonight with a brilliant come-from-behind performance against all odds.
As he did in his heat, the Tony Brett-trained greyhound stormed over the top of his rivals in the home straight to snare the win, and the campaign was particularly satisfying considering Thirty Talks had endured a dropped back muscle in January, keeping him sidelined for six months.
“It’s a very sweet victory to win a big race like this against some of Victoria’s best greyhounds on their home soil,” Brett said after the race, in which Bewildering ($2.90Fav) ran second and Aston Miley ($4.40) third in the time of 25.377sec.
Brett, who thanked former Queenslander Vicki Wisener for housing Thirty Talks at her new home at Hazelwood in Victoria, likened a greyhound’s back muscle injury to a person tearing a hamstring or quad muscle.
“Greyhounds almost always lose some time on the clock after returning from a back muscle injury, so who knows how good Thirty Talks could have been had the injury not happened,” Brett said after his star claimed the $47,000 first prize.
“When I first brought him back from injury he wasn’t racing too well, so I decided to bring him to Melbourne to race him in the Speed Star at Sandown in September as I thought the one-on-one match racing would help him regain some confidence. I also thought that racing in this series (Geelong Gold Cup) would suit him as it’s a one-turn track so he’d have plenty of galloping room. We don’t have any one-turn tracks back home.”
Brett said he will now set Thirty Talks for the world’s richest greyhound race, the TAB Melbourne Cup (515m) at Sandown Park in November.
Thirty Talks (June 2014 Where’s Pedro – Unfinished) was bred by George Kairouz and is owned by Leonard Antonio. He took his record to 29 wins from 47 starts, while his prize money now stands at $366,127.
Earlier on Geelong Gold Cup night, Big Flood (Seona Thompson) won the $9,000 Wedeermoor Plumbing Geelong Derby (460m), while Gordette (Adrian Kenyon) took out the Millers Muzzles Geelong Oaks (460m).
Meanwhile, the Drysdale Football Club were the biggest winners from the Sports Club Challenge, collecting $1,000 cash for having the most representatives among the local sporting clubs in attendance, while the Corio Cricket Club collected $500.
Big Flood wins the $9,000 Geelong Derby.
Tony Brett embraces Thirty Talks as Geelong GRC Chairman Mark Pearson looks on.
The 2017 Pet Panels Geelong Gold Cup presentation.
Geelong Gold Cup placegetters (from left) Aston Miley with trainer Eddie Lieshout, Bewildering with handler Jason Thompson and Thirty Talks with trainer Tony Brett.
Gordette with trainer Adrian Kenyon after winning the $9,000 Geelong Oaks.
Locals turned out in numbers on a warmish night.