By DAVID NAGEL
DEVON Meadows trainer Glenn Rounds will draw on some very special memories when his exciting sprinter All Strung Out lines up in tonight’s heats of the $600,000 TAB Melbourne Cup at Sandown Park.
First run in 1956 and now the world’s richest greyhound race, the cup provided Rounds and his late partner Judy Hayley with their biggest thrill in the sport, claiming the 2001 edition with Classic Capri.
Judy passed away after a battle with leukaemia at the beginning of 2012, her standing in the sport recognised with the running of the Judy Hayley Memorial in March this year.
“We had some pretty handy dogs together but that win was definitely the highlight,” Rounds said of Classic Capri’s victory.
“It’d be a good race to win again but the heats of the Melbourne Cup are always outstanding and tough to win.
“The prize money we are running for now is incredible and it’s rivalling the horses.
“As far as I’m concerned, greyhound racing has never been better.”
“Tough to win”, well that’s an understatement with tonight’s eight heats featuring 26 individual Group winners, combining for 828 race wins and more than $6.8m in prize money.
Rounds bred, trains and owns All Strung Out, a black dog, one of six whelped on 12 August 2012, out of Bekim Bale-Casey’s Angel.
Highlights of All Strung Out’s 21 start career include victory in the Group 2 Great Chase in September and a close-up second in the Group 1 Peter Mosman Classic at Wentworth Park in June.
Despite both of those career-best runs beginning from box eight; Rounds said he was delighted by drawing box two for tonight’s second heat at 7.25pm.
“You might get away with it once or twice but you can’t keep running around fields of this quality,” he said.
“He’s not the fastest of beginners, but he’s drawn well in box two and we’ve got a dog on our inside that ran 29.28 last week.
“If we can get a cart out of the first turn and be somewhere near the lead, he’ll get a full head of steam… he’ll be strong late.”
Rounds said despite having his kennel-star in tip-top condition there was always an element of luck required at the elite level.
“All the trainers respect what the other dogs can do,” he said.
“Maybe one, two or three dogs will get a clear run and we’re hoping to be one of them.
“We’re taking a fit and healthy dog to the track, he’s good within himself, so whatever will be will be.
“He’s still young and got a promising future ahead.”
The TAB Melbourne Cup heats are supported by four heats of the Solo Bold Trease for the country’s top stayers where RSN Sandown Cup winner Sweet It Is will be out to land her fourth Group 1 title.
The winner of each TAB Melbourne Cup heat – and first two in each Solo Bold Trease heat – will progress to next week’s final.
The first of 12 Group 1 heats will be run at 7.04pm and entry to the track is free.
