Trainer Ned McDonald will look to emulate the deeds of his father Darren when his Group 1 winner Accredited jumps from box three in Saturday night’s $500,000 Group 1 Melbourne Cup (515m) at Sandown Park.
The McDonald name is synonymous with the most prestigious race on the Australian greyhound racing calendar, with Darren preparing three winners of the cup.
He first saluted with Hallucinate in 2004 before going back-to-back with Shanlyn Prince and Surgeon in 2007/08.
A win in the great race would cap off a spectacular month for the 25-year-old trainer after Accredited gave him his first Group1 success in the Hume Cup at The Meadows on Saturday 8 November.
Accredited proved his middle-distance capabilities at The Meadows that night, finishing powerfully over 600 metres.
A drop back to the 515 metres of Saturday night’s Melbourne Cup heat proved no obstacle for Accredited, who bounced brilliantly from box one to lead clearly at the first turn; running 5.01 for the first split.
From there it was a one-dog race.
“I was standing right behind the box and I saw the two (Aston Bugsy) shift off (the fence) a little bit like I thought it would; when he punched through and found the front, his 600-metre form showed that he wasn’t going to get run down,” McDonald said post-race.
It’s now onwards and upwards towards one of the great events of the season.
“These are the races we want to be in; this is what we do it for; the build-up now for the week is just phenomenal and it’s just going to be a real good ride,” McDonald explained.
“Nothing different, just keep everything the same; it’s obviously working for him so change nothing.”
Accredited, who qualified fastest in 29.07, will face stiff opposition in the final with Canya Mayhem starting from box two after scorching the track with a 29.14 heat win.
Trainer David Geall will be looking for his third success in the race, with Spritely Sian starting from box four, while Mark Delbridge will be hoping Paw Zuri can provide him with his second cup win after Yachi Bale saluted in 2022.
Saturday night at Sandown Park promises to be a beauty, with the stayers sharing the spotlight with the running of the time-honoured $75,000 Bold Trease (715m).
Jeff Britton (Valenzuela and Mepunga Lara) and Kayla Cottrell (Dashing Slay and Fade To Black) are the only two trainers to have runners in both the Melbourne Cup and Bold Trease on the night.
Here are the fields for the two big races on the card.
$500,000 Group 1 Melbourne Cup (515m)
BOX RUNNER TRAINER HEAT
1 Valenzuela Jeffrey Britton 29.26
2 Canya Mayhem Jessica Hopkins 29.14
3 Accredited Ned McDonald 29.07
4 Spritely Sian David Geall 29.54
5 Dashing Slay Kayla Cottrell 29.23
6 Paw Zuri Mark Delbridge 29.27
7 Intrepidus Robert Pallotta 29.22
8 Daysea’s Rory Tom Tzouvelis 29.24
$75,000 Group 1 Bold Trease (715m)
1 Payback Terrence Reid
2 Late Night News Caroline Hughes
3 Fade To Black Kayla Cottrell
4 Aydens Warrior Jason Thompson
5 Apilla Cameron Butcher
6 Galactic Spartan Matthew Lanigan
7 Mepunga Lara Jeffrey Britton
8 Without A Trace Peter Presutto
MELBOURNE CUP WINNERS SINCE 2000
2000 Go Wild Teddy M. Bell
2001 Classic Capri J. Hayley
2002 Excite Ability L. Poore
2003 Bombastic Shiraz D. Cairns
2004 Hallucinate D. McDonald
2005 Closing Argument C. Taylor
2006 Betty’s Angel P. Bartolo
2007 Shanlyn Prince D. McDonald
2008 Surgeon D. McDonald
2009 Lord Ducal J. Roberts
2010 El Grand Senor C. Jones
2011 Dyna Tron A. Dailly
2012 Got A Moment J. Thompson
2013 Black Magic Opal J. Thompson
2014 Dyna Villa J. Hunt
2015 Dyna Double One A. Dailly
2016 Ando’s Mac J. Mackay
2017 Aston Dee Bee S. Thompson
2018 My Redeemer D. Geall
2019 Whiskey Riot A. Azzopardi
2020 Hard Style Rico L. Karabitsakos
2021 Koblenz D. Geall
2022 Yachi Bale M. Delbridge
2023 Aussie Rocks G. Mitchell
2024 Explicit J. Thompson
