Wentworth Park Gold Cup betting

The Wentworth Park Gold Cup is a time honoured event, held over the 720m trip in the Harbour City.

With $25,000 on offer to winning connections of the final, the race generally attracts the top stayers, not only from NSW, but from interstate as well.

The 2016 Wentworth Park Gold Cup was run on April 9, 2016, and was won by Dave Richardson’s Sandave Sapphire.

Wentworth Park Gold Cup Bookies

Betting on the Group 3 Wentworth Park Gold Cup

Because it is a group race, the Group 3 Gold Cup attracts quality fields to Sydney which means there is a lot of betting interest on the final.

Our recommended online bookmakers offer fixed odds betting on the heats of the series as well as on the final in the week leading up to the decider once the box draw has been conducted.

Some of the bookies also offer markets for the eventual series winner prior to the heats, giving punters the opportunity to land some nice odds about a runner they believe could snare the feature.

With the next Gold Cup nearly a year away, there is still a bit of time to wait before betting opens. In the meantime you can read up on the history of the race or check out some of the other feature greyhound racing events which are coming up.

2016 Group 3 Wentworth Park Gold Cup review

The 2016 Wentworth Park Gold Cup was won and run on Saturday April 9, 2016.

Victorian bitch Lioness Lulu started as the favourite from box eight, with three wins in as many starts over the track and trip, including the Group 1 Association Cup, to her name. When the lids flew open, the fawn flash began well, however she was beaten for speed by the Dave Richardson-trained Sandave Sapphire.

Once out in front, Sandave Sapphire was never in danger as she raced clear to score by five lengths over Lioness Lulu in a brilliant 41.84, with Whittaker filling the trifecta back in third spot.

The win made it 10 wins and nine minor placings for the daughter of Miagi and Stately Sapphire, with $55,357 now beside her name in career earnings.

Wentworth Park Gold Cup history

The first running of the Wentworth Park Gold Cup was in 1966 over 790 yards (722m) on the old grass track. The race was taken out by Brigade in 43.8 which was 3/10th off the track record, held jointly at the time by Magic Vale and Special Pick.

Since its inception the Cup has been won by some of the best staying greyhounds the sport has seen including Zoom Top (2968 and 1969), Ragsie (1972), Miss High Lo (1974), National Lass (1986), Miagi (2008), Bell Haven (2013), Dyna Willow (2014) and Space Star (2015).

Only two greyhounds have won the race twice. The first dog to do so was the mighty Zoom Top, the other being Keith Pedrana’s Slick Lee. The son of Brett Lee and Goodoo Mate won the 2011 running in thrilling style and won the following year’s edition, despite crossing the line third, due to the disqualification of both Thrilling Frank and Thrilling Bloom due to the detection of a banned substance.

While some of the best have won the race, some greats have also been among the beaten brigade in many of the Gold Cups throughout history including Busy’s Charm (third 1968, third 1970), Tara Flash (third 1970), Lizrene (second 1972), He’s Some Boy (second 1973), Kobble Creek (second 1999), Classy Customer (fifth 2005), Texas Gold (sixth 2006), Dashing Corsair (second 2010, third 2011), Irma Bale (second 2013), and Smart Valentino (fifth 2013).

While Victorian chasers generally dominate feature racing in Sydney, the Wentworth Park Gold Cup is an exception. In its 50 runnings, just seven greyhounds have come from the Garden State, one of which had been transferred to NSW for an extended period of time. Those greyhounds are Strand Belle (1971), Ragsie (1972 which was trained in NSW for the majority of its career), Keon Star (1995), Ringside Fire (1998) and Amazing Dancer (2000), Dyna Willow (2014) and Space Star (2015).

The only other interstate greyhounds to have won the race are Bella’s Angel from Western Australia in 2003 and Bell Haven from Tasmania in 2013.

Wentworth Park Gold Cup – modern days

• 2016:
  Sandave Sapphire scored the biggest win of her career when taking out the 2016 Wentworth Park Gold Cup, defeating star stayers Lioness Lulu and Whittaker.
• 2015:
  The most recent edition of the Gold Cup was taken out by Rob Britton’s Space Star, defeating Queensland stayer Mullaway by a massive 10 length margin in 42.01. The son of Bekim Bale and Tonto Tears was one of the most dominant distance chasers in the country in 2014 and early 2015, with his career cut short due to injury.
• 2014:
  Dyna Willow had an affinity with Wentworth Park, winning three group features around the Glebe circuit throughout her career. The Victorian bitch clocked an airborne 41.74 in taking out the race, known at the time as the Betfair Cup, which was also a new track record.
• 2013:
  Tasmanian sensation Bell Haven was another bitch which loved the Sydney track, taking out both the Wentworth Park Gold Cup (42.33) and the Group 2 Sydney Cup (42.25) during her time on the track.

Group 3 Gold Cup honour roll