Above: Tooradin greyhound Sonador with handler Stan Ralph before the running of the Cranbourne Cup on Monday night.Brad Kingsbury
TOORADIN greyhound Sonador ran a cracking race in the final of the Group 2 Cranbourne Cup on Monday night, but was no match for runaway winner Vapour Whirl, finishing third in the $25,000 final.
The twoyearold dog, trained by Amy Ralph and handled by her father Stan, was the outsider of the field but ran a bold race from box six in the 520metre feature event after winning its heat by six lengths the week before in a slick time of 30.23 seconds.
The placing earned Sonador $3500, bringing its total prize money to more than $13,000.
Vapour Whirl’s win in the cup was a major triumph for Ballarat trainer Darren Murray and owners Barry Lockett and Tim Winter.
The homebred dog, which also won the Warragul Cup on Christmas Eve, jumped to the lead and was never threatened, bolting in by more than five lengths to down Dyna Redbull and Sonador.
Lockett and Winter nursed Vapour Whirl back to health after the dog almost died in a bad race fall early in its career and emotions ran high with both men shedding a tear after the victory.
The cup consolation race was won by star western suburbs greyhound Train A Journey.
Cranbourne Greyhound Racing Club president John Van Echteld was thrilled with the large crowd in attendance at the meeting and thanked major sponsor Kingston Trophies along with other supporters.
