Former Kiwi sprinter Above All won Saturday night’s $67,000 Group 2 Cranbourne Cup (520m) leaving trainer Robert Britton in awe.
“He is the best and most determined greyhound I’ve ever trained,” the highly successful Britton (pictured inset) said after his star greyhound claimed the $47,000 first prize.
Little over 12 months ago Above All won the Group 1 Hobart Thousand and Group 1 Silver Chief in the space of 16 days and was touted as one of the premier greyhounds in Australia.
However it has been a tale of frustration since then as two stints on the sidelines totalling nine months because of stopper bone injuries saw Above All grace the track a total of 10 times in 2015.
“It has been an unbelievable effort to come back from these injuries,” Britton said.
“All three of his group wins have been from box 5. It’s a draw people don’t normally like but he doesn’t seem to mind it” – ROBERT BRITTON ON ABOVE ALL
“He’s not the dog he once was but he’s only six runs into this campaign so he may improve a little bit on what we’ve seen tonight.”
“But he doesn’t have the same zip he used to have.”
“When he won the Silver Chief (in January 2015) he came from behind to win running away against the likes of (Melbourne Cup winners) Dyna Villa and Dyna Double One, which gives you an idea of the potential he was showing.”
Above All ($20.80) began well in the Cranbourne Cup, settling second behind early pace setter Shared Equity, who tracked wide on the first turn allowing Above All to cut to the lead along the rail.
From that position he was always going to be hard to beat, and he eventually scored by two lengths over Shared Equity with Rare Pearl third in 30.00sec.
“All three of his group wins have been from box five,” Britton pointed out. “It’s a draw people don’t normally like but he doesn’t seem to mind it.”
Britton said he was unsure where he’d race Above All over the coming weeks, but features such as the Warragul Cup and Perth Cup appear among the possibilities.
Above All, bred and owned in New Zealand by Alison Lee and Merv O’Brien, extended his stunning record to 14 wins from 27 starts, while his prize money earnings are now at $281,185.
WATCH: Above All wins the 2016 Cranbourne Cup.
