Paul and Pamela Braddon are dreaming of snaring greyhound racing's biggest titles with Falcon's Fury - but would certainly settle for Friday’s Ladbrokes Dubbo Gold Cup (516m) for now.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The son of Fabregas and Janderra's Fury jumps from box eight looking a strong chance to take out the $10,000 title, the biggest race of the year at Dawson Park.
Falcon's Fury was a brilliant winner in last week's heats and is the current kennel star for Cowra-based Paul Braddon, who combines training greyhounds with working in an abattoir, and his wife.
A winner of this year's Bulli and Bathurst gold cups, he could only finish seventh in the recent $250,000-to-the-winner Group 1 Golden Easter Egg semi-finals - but looks to have returned to top form for this race.
"Paul keeps saying to me, 'I just wish I could win a Group 1 (with him)," Pamela Braddon said.
"I've just said, 'there's always next year'. He's only just turned two and he'll be a more seasoned greyhound come next year.
“We’re having a brilliant time, that’s for sure.”
Falcon's Fury returned to his terrific best with a sparkling 29.35 run - just .05 outside the track record - in last week's heats.
A winner of 17 of his 26 starts so far, he has won two of his three previous starts from box eight and two of his three races at Dubbo.
He is an outstanding talent at best but has occasionally bungled his start, notably in a couple of big races.
“We’ll have to see if he can bring his box manners to the table,” Pamela Braddon said. “If he nails the start then it’s his race to lose.
“He can be impatient in the boxes. We’ve tried to work on it but he still has the habit of missing the kick.
“He seems to know when it’s a big race as well, unfortunately. He bombed the start in the Maitland Gold Cup last month.
“The greyhound in box seven (Starburst Bassy) crashes to the left which should at least give him the room he needs. If he can get out cleanly then I think he could be off and gone.”
The Braddons also have litter sisters Little Cindy and Ferrero Miss jumping from boxes three and four in the decider, with both also looking decent value chances.
Little Cindy ran 30.13 to qualify last week, while Ferrero Miss timed 30.35 but clocked a speedy 29.76 at Dubbo last month and has won three of her last four starts.
Of the rest of the final field, Mitra (box one) looks the biggest danger to the Braddon trio.
The Neil Staines-trained greyhound ran a strong 29.74 to win his heat last week and has the perfect draw to salute again in the final.
The race is the eighth of 11 on the card at Dubbo.
Racing gets underway at 6.43pm with the Gold Cup at 9.12pm.
