Group One winner Aqua Cheetah is looking for a swansong in the Wagga Gold Cup.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A dual winner at the highest level, Aqua Cheetah has returned to his roots before an imminent retirement.
He’ll line up in first of the three cup heats on Friday looking to secure a place in the Riverina’s richest greyhound race next week.
Booroma couple Tia and Ian Robertson, along with Mark Morgan, have owned Aqua Cheetah throughout his glittering career.
Wins in the South Australia Cup and Dapto Megastar rate among his best and he’s also raced in two Top Guns and a Golden Easter Egg Final.
With more than $300,000 earnings in the bank, Aqua Cheetah is destined for a stud career.
But before that they’ve given him one last chance to shine.
Aqua Cheetah hasn’t raced since finishing fourth in a heat of the Golden Easter Egg in March.
It shaped as his last run before the Wagga Gold Cup came into the equation.
“He pulled up crook after the heats of the Easter Egg so we were looking at retiring him but injuries have come good and he trialled good last week at Wagga,” Ian Robertson said.
“I gave him a post to post last week and he went good so we thought we’d have a crack at the cup.”
It was his first time around Wagga since his pre-training days.
Robertson expects he’ll take plenty of benefit from the run, but thought box two was a good alley.
“He’s probably going in a run short for the cup, but he will be a live chance and he’s drawn well,” he said.
Robertson hopes class will take him a long way.
However it won’t be easy with defending champion Ferrero Miss drawn in the same heat.
She will start from box five and looms as the obvious threat.
“It is a good dog and also the three dog (Bella Bellissimo),” Robertson said.
“I’ve followed it a bit since Benny Talbot has had it and she has a lot of ability.”
Robertson will also line up littermate Aqua Divergent in the second of the cup heats.
It reads as probably the weakest of the three heats and he coming off a win at Temora.
However Robertson is concerned about the draw.
“He is going good too, but box seven probably doesn’t suit” he said. “It is hard to get across at Wagga from the outside boxes over the 500.
“You really want to get down to the rails before the corner, but he is going really good and I’m expecting a big run from him.”
Both are approaching the end of their racing days and Aqua Cheetah is more than likely heading overseas for stud duties.
They have received two offers from Ireland as well as one from America and will finalise plans soon.