What The Trainers Said Ahead Of Richmond Straight Cup Final
By Simon Orchard
The second edition of the GRNSW Richmond Straight Cup will be held this Saturday, February 3 with superstar Shall Not a raging hot favourite for the $25,000 feature.
We caught up with the finalists to get their thoughts ahead the big dance:
Trainer Stephen Keep on the heat effort of Sal’s Blue Boy:
That was just his second look at the track so I thought his run was really good, especially considering it’s a different sort of setup to Capalaba. They’ve got a better squeaker at Capalaba and when they put them in the box, they turn the green light on and the lure driver counts to five before he lets it go. At Richmond they don’t seem to give the dogs a lot of time to settle, especially if they go in on the second line.
On his potential in the final…
He should improve but will want to get up the track a bit more. If he comes out well, I think he could go 17.4 and he’s the better box dog of my two. When you’re chasing a dog like Shall Not though, you sort of wonder if it’s possible to beat him
Sal's Blue Boy is a 15-time winner and was a G3 Grafton Cup finalist in 2023
Owner Shayne Stiff on Clint Keeping’s long-standing connection to Shall Not:
He was reared in the yard next to Shall Not and the whole time they were here he could not catch him, and he still can’t catch him. Shall Not is the best straight track dog in the country and he’s just got so much on this field. He was first up from a toe injury in the heat as well so I think he’ll improve a stack and he’s faultless at Richmond.
On what may cost Clint Keeping in the final:
He’s a bit clumsy, he misses the kick sometimes, he might run up the back of them, he just makes mistakes so he’s hard to bet on. He broke in very fast though and after Charmaine [Roberts] won a few races up the straight with him, we sent him to COURTNEY [Barnes] to train and she’s done a good job with him.
Clint Keeping has only missed the frame once in his last nine starts up the Richmond Straight
Best Richmond Straight 324m Time: 17.30 (31/10/23)
Track & Distance Record: 12: 7-4-0
Trainer David Smith on the speed map/race shape:
We needed Shall Not to draw in the middle to have a chance but now he’s drawn Box 8, he should get a good run. Most of the dogs go left out of the boxes as well so he should get clear passage and he was four to five lengths faster than the rest in the heats so he’s a moral.
He’s no chance of winning even though he might be the second fastest dog in the race. He didn’t have a lot of clear running room in a couple of starts at Maitland to start the year so he was a few hard runs short of being 100% in the heats. He should be wound up by Saturday. He also doesn’t consistently jump well but he’s drawn to run a place from Box 3 and if the track dries up, it could be faster near the rail.
Trainer Stephen Keep on All Lies Ahead’s heat effort:
He was a little bit tardy in the heats and he does that a bit so it can be his downfall. He got bumped early then had to run across the back of a few dogs to get to the middle of the track too but he was strong to the line. He’s boxed where he wants to be in the final and if they give him a clean run, he’s a strong dog and is certainly the quicker of my two with clear running.
On which of his dogs to back in the final:
Sal’s Blue Boy is the one I’d be betting on but you never know your luck in finals and you can’t win races if they stay home in the kennel. I took a fifth-grade dog named Baroque Knight down for the Easter Egg a few years ago and someone said “Why am I taking him down?” and he ran third in the final to Tommy Shelby and Wow so who knows. Shall Not is just a freak though and if I don’t win it, I’ll be happy to run second to him
Trainer Barry Gibbons on a kerfuffle in the heats:
Forget the heat run because there was a bit of a stuff up getting him into the box. The dog in Box 1 took a bit of time to go in so by the time I got my bloke in, the green light was on. I only just pulled the door down in time and he didn’t get a chance to settle. Considering what happened, I was happy with the run and we’ll freshen him up to hopefully improve on Saturday.
On his chances of knocking over Shall Not:
Shall Not has three lengths on him running home but we can match him early. We went 17.49 last Tuesday so if we get on a fast track and come out early, we could go 17.30 at best. If we can pinch a break and Shall Not gets held up at all, he’s a chance.
Best Richmond Straight 324m Time: 17.38 (18/12/21)
Track & Distance Record: 100: 28-16-12
Trainer James Porter on his final hopes:
I can never write a dog like Mitch And Murray off. He wins races I think he’s no chance in and vice versa. Shall Not was an odds-on favourite in the NSW National Straight Track Final last year and got knocked over so nothing’s a certainty in this sport. My guy prefers it on the inside but he should go straight and these days he can run a 17.5 at his best. I guess they’ll go quicker than that and he’ll need a miracle to win because the Richmond Straight has been the ‘Shall Not Show’ for the last six months.
Mitch And Murray has had the most race starts (100) of any dog in the history of the Richmond Straight
Trainer Chris Brydon on being drawn alongside race favourite Shall Not:
It’s not ideal because Shall Not is probably going to come straight across to the middle and get behind the drag. He’s generally a fast beginner too and We’re On One is hit and miss so our best chance is to miss it half a length and follow Shall Not across. But to be honest, I don’t think we can follow him into the race and run past him. He’ll probably run 17.30 odd and I don’t think my guy can go that quick. If we can run a place in the final, I’d be stoked and I think at his best, he can get down to 17.45.
On his preparation for the final:
He came out very ordinary in the heat and he was a clear last after the first 20m. There was bit of interference on his inside which tangled up a few of the fast one’s and that helped him get into a decent position pretty quickly. I’d like to give Michael Hodges some credit for how he’s going. We’re school mates from Coonamble and he looks after a lot of my dogs when they go to Sydney. He’s had this guy for a few weeks, trialled him up and done a great job to get him into the final.
We're On One is a kennelmate to fellow straight track speedster and G2-placed Coonamble Kid
Trainer Darren Sultana on the Box 8 draw and his star’s chances:
I don’t mind being in Box 8 because there’s a few chances in the race and if things go wrong, I’d rather be on the outside. On paper, he looks hard to beat but there’s no such thing as a sure thing. But I know I’d rather be handling him than any other dog in the race. The race will be won or lost in the first 100m. In free for all straight track racing, you can’t get checked too much because if you give a dog three or four lengths start, by the time you get your momentum back, it’s too late.
