Big Opal Rocks Best Of Stringer's 1000 Contingent

TASSIE training star Mick Stringer has a dominant role in the heats of the Group 1 Hobart 1000 (461m) on Thursday night and a number of those are not even his dogs.

Mick's kennel has boom youngsters Manila Prince and Manila Flash, as well as Do It, Assassinate and Big Opal Rocks in the heats.

But, Mick will also handle visitor Typhoon Sammy for the heats, the class act coming from Jason Thompson's kennel in Victoria.

FIELDS AND FORM HOBART THURSDAY NIGHT

Stringer and Thompson finished first and second in the Hobart 1000 last year, Thompson's Aussie Secret beating Do It which was also cared for by Mick during the series.

“Typhoon Sammy arrived here Sunday afternoon and we will not have a chance to give him a look at the Hobart track,” said Mick.

Hot runs at Horsham

BIG OPAL ROCKS (three lengths off 485-metre track record) and ACTION GIRL (one-tenth off 410-metre track record) produced sizzling performances.

Make sure these greyhounds are in your Watchdog Blackbook ?#GreyhoundRacing pic.twitter.com/OC3Wh07tee

— WatchDog Racing (@WatchDogRacing) November 7, 2022

“But, he has settled in perfectly.”

But Mick is confident he has the key to the Hobart 1000 in Big Opal Rocks.

Long-time kennel client, Gold Coast based Irishman Phil Smith, recently bought Big Opal Rocks and sent him to Mick Stringer to prepare for the Hobart 1000.

“I will tell you how fast he is,” said Mick.

“We have a slip distance at Hobart which I call ‘the 22 pole'.

“I put Do It, who is going fantastic for us since we got him here, around and he went 21.03 from the mark.

“But Big Opal Rocks went 20.92 from the same mark.

“He has drawn a fairly moderate field of locals in his heat and I rate him very hard to beat.”

But Mick is also enthusiastic about the chances of Phil Smith's youngster Manila Prince which takes on Typhoon Sammy.

“He's won eight of nine and has run fast times for us,” said Mick.

“He is only young and inexperienced, but I won the Hobart 1000 back in 2009 with a dog called Little Spaniard and he had raced only a dozen times.

“Manila Prince deserves a crack at the race.”

Do It has drawn the rails in his heat and comes up against one-turn track star Fernando Mick.

“The old dog is a marvel and going good,” said Mick. “In fact, he is going really good.”

Mick also gives Manila Flash a chance against a classy field which includes local star Nail ‘Em Fencer.

“She holds the first two split records at Hobart so that puts her into any race,” he said.

Of the Tassie dogs, Mick says Rojo Diamond, an outstanding sprinter from Robin Grubb's kennel, is “the real deal, the top seed”.

The Fabregas-Sing The Song dog has won 22 of 35 starts and earned $90,000 and recently won the Group 3 The Chase at Hobart.

Mick said he could also get Victorian On The Bit from the Matt Lanigan kennel for the series.

“I had him for the Devonport Chase, but he was not 100 percent and he went back home,” he said.

“He could come here as well for the series.”