A near perfect rail ride to snatch victory on the line was delivered by classy sprinter Magistrate on Thursday night at Albion Park as he won the Group Three Origin Series Sprint.
The Origin Series Sprint, worth $100,000 to the winner and run over 520m, had the Sandra Hunt-trained runner Tomahawk Hayze ($2.80) as the top hope with greyhound betting sites. With a record that speaks for itself, having only gone unplaced once in his past 20 starts, his heavy support in the market was justified.
However, markets saw a massive late plunge for the Greg Stella-trained Magistrate, his odds sliced from $9 with Neds, to as short as $3.10 before the jump.
From the start, it was a battle between these two dogs as they contested the lead.
As Magistrate slammed down his gavel he held court once again coming through on the rail to win his second Group Three feature this year and his career, after his victory in the Ipswich Auction Series Final in April.
“Very happy with his win,” trainer Greg Stella said.
“He has gotten a bit stronger in the run home section of racing.
“Normally he has had to lead to win.
“He might race in the heats of the Brisbane Cup in two weeks or the Young Guns at Ipswich.”
The quality field included sprint stars including G1 Gold Bullion winner Hello Mike, G3 Grafton Cup winner Cash Master and two-time G3 winner, out of the Ned Snow kennel, Shipwreck.
Magistrate has now earned $221,550 in prize money for connections, with 16 victories and eight placings from 28 starts.
More greyhound racing news