Veteran racer Almost Black may be in the twilight of his racing career at more than four years old but he’s likely to be the favourite in the $5000-to-the-winner Maitland Supporters Club Gold Collar final on Thursday afternoon.
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The John Chapman-trained son of Oaks road and Sky Twinkle was the fastest of last Thursday’s four heat winners and with 29 wins from 85 starts under his collar he certainly knows his way to the finish line.
Almost Black pinged the lids from box one and carved out a 5.28 seconds first section to lead all the way in 22.28 seconds and beat the Darryl Fitzsimmons-trained Hungry Heart (22.43s) by two lengths.
The well-travelled dishlicker was also having his first look at the big one-turn Maitland circuit and he can only take improvement out of that run into the final.
Almost Black has proven to be a versatile chaser with wins at Dapto, Bathurst, Bulli, Richmond, Gosford, Lithgow and Wentworth Park and he has won multiple times from all boxes.
The bulk of his wins, however, have come from inside boxes and he’s likely to win plenty of support from punters if he draws one, two or three in the final.
Maitland Future Stars finalist Bocelli earned a spot in yet another final for Kearsley trainer Rob Groizard Jnr when he made good use of box one to win the first Gold Collar heat in 22.45s, beating the Susan Smith-trained Buddha (22.49s) by three quarters of a length.
For No One won the third heat in 22.36s for trainer Rex Jones by a nose from second place dead-heaters Fantastic Jett and In The Moonlight.
A draw was later required to separate the two runners-up for a spot in the final with In The Moonlight going into the main draw for trainer Bruce Mackie and Fantastic Jett going in as first reserve for trainer Allan Syphers.
Cop A Chevy was impressive from box eight to win the fourth heat for Buttwerick owner-trainer Michael Manuel in 22.32s.
The son of Kinloch Brae and Cop A Sling knuckled down late to beat the Brian Tuft-trained O’Leary (22.32s) by a nose.
Almost Black has proven to be a versatile chaser with wins at Dapto, Bathurst, Bulli, Richmond, Gosford, Lithgow and Wentworth Park
Good luck to all the runners in Thursday’s Gold Collar final and a big thank you to Maitland Supporters Club for making this a feature event on Maitland Greyhound Club’s racing calendar.
The supporters club is made up of four women, Margaret Enright, Denise Hill, Margaret Bright and Barbara Rees, whose tireless work at the track each week goes towards boosting prizemoney for trainers.
The supporters also sponsor an annual juvenile classic and special events for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.