There was a time when ZIPPINGKyrgios kind of lived up to his namesake … an abundance of talent, but an unpredictable and you were never really sure exactly what you might get.
“Kyrgios was a bit like (Nick) Kyrgios when he first started racing,” trainer John Finn’s wife Minnie explained.
“He’s going a lot better now than when he first started. He wanted to get off (the track), couldn’t find the gaps, you name it … but now he’s learnt how race.”
ZIPPINGKyrgios was brilliant winning his heat of the Group 2 Sires On Ice Black Top at LADBROKES GARDENS last Friday and will be strongly-fancied to add another Group victory to his resume tonight in the $40,000 final.
His 29.24s performance was the fastest of the four heats, and just over a length outside the track record set by 2019 Golden Easter Egg winner ZIPPING Bailey more than three years ago.
But it also brought comparisons with one of the sports all-time greats, Rapid Journey, the superstar from the 1990s who in 1998 won at the elite level: the Melbourne Cup, Golden Easter Egg, Adelaide Cup, Perth Cup, Topgun and National Sprint Championship.
“Rapid Journey used to work his way through the field and was a great Chaser, and that’s the key to Kyrgios too,” she said. “He’s a very good Chaser who puts in 110 per cent every time he goes around. That’s the sort of dog you want.
“John (Finn) always says a good dog will make their own luck, it doesn’t matter what box they have, a good dog can win from anywhere, they just seem to be able to win regardless.”
It was a year ago yesterday when ZIPPINGKyrgios made his debut in a heat of the Million Dollar Chase Maiden at Wentworth Park. He was greener than broccoli, and finished out of a place, but would win his next two starts over the 400m at Maitland.
“We got him after he was broken in, and when we eventually got him over 500m we could tell he had some ability,” Minnie said. “He wasn’t doing much over 300m, but we trialled him for the first time at Wenty and he went 29.8s, so we knew he could run.
“He got better with experience, and now I’d have to say he’s just about the perfect dog, expect for not having that early speed, but he has now got great track sense.”
At just start 11 back in January he posted one of the fastest ever runs at Wentworth Park, a stunning 29.37s. A couple of months later he reached the final of the Golden Easter Egg, then the Maitland Cup final, then would win the Group 3 Bob Payne at Wenty, then reach the final of the Brother Fox at Dubbo, represent NSW in the State Of Origin series, before equalling the track record at Dubbo.
He would then run second to Good Odds Cash in the NSW State Sprint Championship at Dapto before running fast times in three success wins at Richmond, before finally heading to the Black Top.
“We weren’t sure how he was going to get around Dubbo, then we weren’t that keen with the National Sprint at Dapto, and then the Black Top came up at the Gardens, and Marty (Hallinan who with his wife Fiona owns the dog) said, we may as well there’s nothing else on, so we did.
ZIPPINGKyrgios has drawn box five in the Black Top Final, and Minnie expects a stack of speed into the first turn.
The other three heat winners - More Sauce (box 1), Zulu Warlord (box 4) and Casual Glance (box 8) - all led throughout in their heats, while Pay Call (box 6) who was run down by ZIPPINGKyrgios also flew out in the heats.
“There’s a lot of speed. Hopefully Kyrgios misses Zulu Warlord coming out as he comes out and goes right, but Zulu Warlord should beat us out pretty easily, and hopefully we can get over to the fence, and camp on the speed.”
The Hallinans have countless dogs with the ZIPPING prefix, so how did this one get his name? Tennis fans?
“So, some of others in the litter were called ZIPPING Barty, ZIPPING Cahill, ZIPPING Freeman, we have ZIPPING Pearson, and there was ZIPPING Lockett and ZIPPING Hewitt as well.”
All good sportsmen and women no doubt, but … none have ever won a Black Top at The Gardens. Maybe that changes tonight.
