Devon Meadows on hat trick

By Paul Pickering
DEVON Meadows-trained Melbourne Cup hope Lord Ducal is a story of two families; one human, one canine.
The emerging sprint star will tonight (26 November) give husband-and-wife duo Jon and Jenny Roberts their second Melbourne Cup runner, some 21 years after a bitch named Plugger ran fourth in the same race.
Lord Ducal, or ‘Malcolm’ when he’s at home, is Plug-ger’s great-great-great-great-nephew.
He secured his berth in the final of Australia’s richest race with an impressive heat win at Sandown Park last Thursday night and will jump from box seven.
If successful, Lord Ducal will be the third consecutive Cup winner to hail from Devon Meadows, following back-to-back triumphs for master trainer Darren McDonald with Shanlyn Prince and Surgeon.
McDonald, who lives next door to the Roberts family, doesn’t have a runner in this year’s final, so it will be up to his neighbours to shoulder the hopes of the prominent greyhound racing postcode.
If Jon and Jenny are feeling the pressure, it doesn’t show.
“It’s just a big thrill to be there,” Jenny said last Friday.
“The hard work is done now and we’re in it, so whatever happens happens now,” Jon added.
“We’ve just got to make sure he gets there at 100 per cent.”
Jon is a committeeman at the Cranbourne Greyhound Racing Club and is responsible for the walking duties in the Roberts household, while Jenny acts as the handler on race day.
The couple, who have shared a passion for greyhounds for over 30 years, also had some success with Lord Ducal’s grandmother Just Barbie, which won 27 races and made the final of the Albion Park Gold Cup in the early nineties.
But Jon believes Lord Ducal – rated a $7 chance in the indicative market released after Saturday night’s box draw – could be the family’s best chance yet of a Group One victory.
“If he got to the front down the back (straight), I think Turanza Bale is the only one that could catch him,” Jon declared.
Turanza Bale is trained by veteran mentor Graeme Bate, who is going for a record fourth Melbourne Cup win.
Other leading contenders include New South Wales raider Take The Kitty, which has snared the prized inside box, fastest heat runner Mr Moorooduc and Keysborough-trained Remo Rubik.
Jamie Ennis’ Octare is the only bitch in tonight’s field and will also be the rank outsider, despite upsetting red-hot Pearcedale dog Cindeen Shelby in her heat.
The gates will open at 6pm tonight at Sandown Park, with the first race to be run at 7.05pm.