2021 Waterloo Cup – possible contenders

[Wandering Eyes]

The 2021 Waterloo Cup series is almost upon us! National Coursing Association Victoria Secretary Sean Lithgow takes a look at some of the coursing talent we hope to see in week one of the Waterloo Cup which will be held at Longwood.

Nominations close for Victoria’s richest coursing event boasting $12,970 to-the-winner on Thursday 12 August at 8.30am.

Nangkari
So far unbeaten coursing, Nangkari sets up his wins in the first 20 metres with electrifying breaks from the slips and brilliant early speed. Longwood is a slightly shorter track than Benalla and Lang Lang so this will work to his strengths and makes him the one to beat. He was scratched from the Semi Finals of the recent Ray Boundy Memorial after an untimely Bull Ant bite but Team Massina are confident he is fully recovered. It is a brave person to bet against this year’s Longwood and Benalla Cup winner.

Sambar Chief
Has proved a class above this year’s puppies with a brilliant win in the Victorian Derby and Semi Finalist in this year’s Sylvester Doyle Puppy Classic. He has been super consistent throughout the season and has solid early speed and a very strong run home. Jason Whybrow has mostly kept him against his own age group this year but he has taken to Coursing like a fish to water so there is no reason he won’t be up to the challenge of taking on the big guns.

WATCH: Sambar Chief defeat Mr Football on August 1 at Longwood.

Making Gravy
Last year’s Waterloo Cup winner had a brilliant start to the season winning the Werribee Cup before a few niggles limited the work trainer Adele Powell could get into him. He has still made the recent finals of the Longwood Cup and Western Saws Cup but found the third course a little too much. At his best, Making Gravy is both quick early and strong late, so we hope to see him back at his peak over the next two Sundays.

WATCH: Making Gravy defeat Bound To Succeed in June.

Dream Wizard
Went almost two seasons unbeaten in coursing before the giant killer American Missile took him down recently at Lang Lang. He is a three-time Group Finalist and ran third in the recent Horizon Final. He won last year’s Victorian Derby and this year’s State of Origin so is deserving of being mentioned with the top Coursers in this list. He injured a monkey muscle in the recent heats of the Victorian Straight Track Championship at Healesville putting him out of the final, but I am confident he will be good to go by Week 1 of Waterloo.

WATCH: Dream Wizard defeat Run Baba Run in the Aussie Infrared State Of Origin.

Custom Roof
Bit of a smoky in that he hasn’t done as much coursing as a number of greyhounds in this list, but boy can he fly when healthy. The clock doesn’t lie and when fully fit the 16.40 and 16.45 wins at Lang Lang shows that talent and speed are not his issue. He has reasonable early speed but makes up for it with a very fast run home. He is a FFA dog now at Healesville and we know he is a fast courser but coming back from a hip injury and stopper soreness, will trainer Shelly Warde have him fit enough?

Mr Football
Won a few puppy events early in the year before being a close runner up in the Victorian Derby. He has a 22.09sec win over the 390m at Warrnambool so has serious speed when given a clear run. Mr Football is a few lengths better from the white collar so will want to be drawn in the bottom half of the draw. Good beginner with a strong run home, a definite contender if things can go his way in early rounds.

WATCH: Mr Football defeat Sambar Chief in the NCAV Derby Final.

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