Black type heat racing in the River City
Peter Fenemor • August 29th, 2025 10:36 AM • 5 min read
Group race heats highlight this evening’s Hatrick meeting with three 520m heats being contested for the Group 1 Wanganui Cup, along with two Wanganui Stayers heats at Group 2 level over the 755m distance.
It will require a top 2 finish to make the Wanganui Cup field, while the fastest two third placegetters will join them in the decider.
The powerful Lisa Cole kennels have made a flying start to the new season, having already applied the finishing touches to 52 race winners.
Obviously, the Palmerston North based kennels have strong representation in all three Wanganui Cup heats, with four greyhounds contesting each heat.
Brendon Cole kindly provided us with his thoughts on the kennel contenders.
The TAB Futures quotes are listed beside each runner.
Wanganui Cup Heat 1 – Race 6
4 Big Time Tama ($64 & $14.20): “He is capable, although he has to get himself handy to the pace when going into the first turn.”
6 Big Time Moose ($31 & $8.00): “He struggles at the end of his 520m races. He has early pace, which he must use.”
7 More Magic ($5 & $1.80): “Completely forget his Cambridge miss when he got whacked out of it. He’s a Group 1 winner (Auckland Cup) who is suited racing back at Hatrick.”
Others in the heat who hold advancement claims includes the nicely trap-two drawn Romantic Rebel ($13 & $3.30) for the Matt Roberts and Jack Johnson training combination. Garry Cleeve lines up the proven Zestful ($9 & $2.60) in the first heat
Wanganui Cup Heat 2 – Race 7
3 Boom Dynamite ($4 & $1.60): “He’s won a Group 1 race here and his draw is good for him. Don’t be surprised if he leads his heat all-the-way.”
4 Big Time Ashton ($41 & $8.50): “He owns good early pace, although he struggles a wee bit during the run home.”
6 Green Gold ($34 & $7.60): “She has good early pace as seen in her last 520m race here. She can and must do the same here.”
8 Bold Wave ($21 & $5.00): “We haven’t been able to get him to deliver what we know he is capable of owing to a number of issues we’ve had with him. He recently trialed good.”
Other heat contenders from this heat includes Claws in Zorro ($17 & $4.20) who has compiled solid track form here for Roberts and Johnson.
Wanganui Cup Heat 3 – Race 8
2 Big Time Bam ($41 & $8.50): “He’s likely to move out a bit, however he does have pace and strength. He’s a handy dog.”
4 Fear To Tread ($10 & $2.80): “She’s proven here as seen by her winning a Group 1 520m race here. She is fresh, however only bad luck beats her.”
6 Big Time Brave ($14 & $3.60): “She’s capable, although she hasn’t been able to cross others lately and she has been knocked around.”
8 All Over Rover ($21 & $5.00): “This is his first 520m race for a while. The worry is that he’s likely to turn left from the traps.”
Again, it is the Roberts and Johnson kennel who provides a solid heat contender here with Let Him Cook ($12 & $3.20).
Cleeve lines up Stuck Throttle ($7 & $2.20) in this heat. He was the runner-up in three Group 1 finals last season, which includes his second placing behind Boom Dynamite in the NZ Futurity final here.
