SYDNEY CUP BOUND: Raymond Smith trained Miss Ezmae is all primed for the Sydney Cup after a sensational track-record breaking run over 717m at Richmond last Sunday night. Photo courtesy of Adam Dobbin and The Greyhound Recorder. INSET: Photo finish of Miss Ezmae gets home by a length after a neck-and-neck battle with Super Estrella.
Miss Ezmae claimed her tenth win from only 16 starts on Sunday night at the Richmond track shaving two-tenths of the record in the process with an impressive 41.42 over the 717 metre carry. Even second placed Super Estrella took two lengths off the previous mark held by Blue Lorian back in 2011.
With Jungle Deuce iced for three weeks now with split webbing after Friday night’s track record breaking run in Temora, all eyes were on Miss Ezmae to see how she would fair in one of her biggest tests yet.
The Raymond Smith charger never had it all her own way, as she duelled with Super Estrella on a perfect night for racing. The daughter of Barcia Bale finally broke free from Super Estrella to score by a length in a dogged affair that seemed more like a war of attrition.
“When she was chasing Super Estrella I was just hoping she’d hang in there in the hope she might be close enough to get her late,” trainer Raymond Smith said after the win to The Greyhound Recorder’s Adam Dobbin.
“My bitch had a great preparation going into the race and it was a beautiful night for racing so it wasn’t a total surprise she broke the track record,” said Smith. “But to break it by so much was – she’s just got so much ability, which her record shows.”
Miss Ezmae secured her third track record in Sunday’s Richmond romp, her previous records established at Dubbo (605m) and Bathurst (618m).
Smith will now focus on the COVID-19 rescheduled ($100,000) Sydney Cup at Wentworth Park with heats slated for Wednesday, October 6 before the final on Saturday, October 15. No doubt we will be hearing a lot more.