THE butterflies may be fluttering underneath, but on the surface you'd be none the wiser that Wagga greyhound owner-breeder Mick Finn could be just under 30 seconds away from snaring a cheque of life-changing proportions.
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The 63-year-old will fly south on Friday to watch his "once in a lifetime" dog, Tiggerlong Tonk, square off in the Melbourne Cup at Sandown Park, with the winner of the Group One feature to snare $435,000 in prizemoney, second place $130,000 and third $65,000.
It's the culmination of more than five decades of participation in the industry for the 63-year-old, who got his first greyhound with father Tom aged 12.
Tiggerlong Tonk, winner of 32 of 60 races and over $340,000 in prizemoney, won through to the world's richest race with an all-the-way heat win, clocking a heat-best time of 29.16 seconds.
He will start from box eight in the ten-dog field, and has won six of nine races wearing the pink rug.
Finn said he had no idea Tonk would develop into a champion when he first sent him down to Victorian trainer Correy Grenfell.
"It's once in a lifetime these types dogs, if you're lucky enough to get one," he said.
"When I broke him in he really wasn't any better than the rest of the litter. I sent him down to Correy when he about 16 months old, he trialled against Orson Allen who got Australian dog of the year last year, and he nearly went the same time as him.
"Correy knew he had something special then and he kept improving. I just thought he'd be a handy dog when I sent him down, but he didn't show anything out of the ordinary really."
Finn came agonisingly close to a Group One victory in the Perth Cup four years ago, when Tiggerlong Await was nosed out by Ima Wagtail in the 2016 Perth Cup.
"They called him as the winner and people were giving me their congratulations, then the photo came up and he got beat by a nose," he said.
"I still reckon he won it to tell you the truth.
"It changes your life that money (in the Melbourne Cup), doesn't it? There's five dogs there who are the best in Australia, there's nothing between them.
"It's all about the first section, which is usually good from him, and box eight isn't bad for him. If we can just sit behind ($2.40 favourite Simon Told Helen), who I think will lead, I reckon he's strong enough to run him down on the line.
"I think he's been placed in five Group One finals, maybe this is the one."
Finn said Tiggerlong Tonk's mother, Tiggerlong Dot, will breed with Group One cult figure Feral Franky in the hope of finding another star.
"We can only hope, but you only get one Tonk in your lifetime," he said.
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