Above right: Successful trainer Darren McDonald with $70,000 Group 2 Shootout winner Cool Effort last Thursday night at Sandown Park.By Brad Kingsbury
MASTER greyhound trainer Darren McDonald collected the entire $75,000 prizemoney offered for last Thursday’s Sport 927 Group 2 Shootout when his two runners in the four-dog field finished one-two in the night’s feature race.
Race favourite Cool Effort took out the 515-metre sprint in 29.71 seconds earning $70,000 for his trouble, while Shanlyn Prince (box five) railed through to grab second place over Betty’s Angel and Miss Hot Gossip to take home a $5000 cheque.
In a crowd-pleasing race the four champion greyhounds began together, entered the first turn almost level before McDonald’s white speed machine took the lead at the first turn and was never headed.
Betty’s Angel and Miss Hot Gossip had a protracted bumping duel over the first 200 metres, while Shanlyn Prince dropped behind them by a length, but the race was over in the back straight, when Cool Effort opened up a five-length break.
Shanlyn Prince was brave in defeat and McDonald said afterwards that had the box draw been reversed so may have been the placings.
“Box draws probably win these races and had it been the other way around the result probably would have been reversed,” he said.
“I think Shanlyn Prince was a tremendous run. He was last at one stage and did a super job to run second but I always thought that Cool Effort was the one to beat.”
It was Cool Effort’s second Group 2 win in as many starts, his previous win coming in the Geelong Cup during October.
McDonald said the greyhound was set specifically for the race for about two months and would now progress to the Melbourne Cup heats tonight (Thursday).
“We opted not to go to Sydney for the Paws of Thunder in favour of this race. He runs so well at this track,” he said.
“I took him to Brisbane and he didn’t travel that well, so I just said to the owners to give him a let-up and a light preparation to try and have him right for the next three weeks.”
“You’re never too confident in these big races, but that’s his biggest win to date.”
Young owners Fab Mastropasqua, Matt Coles and Dave Bussutil who make up the ‘Cool Three’ syndicate, were over the moon and described McDonald as the best trainer in Australia after the victory.
Cool Effort has now won 22 races from 39 starts and seven from 10 at the Lightwood Road circuit, earning career prizemoney of $159,190.
McDonald became the first multiple Shootout winning trainer following Bond’s outstanding track record win in 2005.
He said he hoped to have six runners in the Melbourne Cup heats with Nitro Nori, All Caution, Bye Bye Bones and Hot To Rumble joining Shanlyn Prince and Cool Effort among the cup final hopefuls tonight.
