Lawrance Making The Most Of Surprise Cup Berth

LAND Down Under's Brisbane Cup journey has been anything but conventional but now that he's there trainer Serena Lawrance is hoping to make the most of it.

In a fascinating tale of good fortune, Lawrance will rug Land Down Under up from box one after the son of Fabregas blazed his way into the Group 1 final with an upset 30.08 heat victory last Thursday.

But as Lawrance explains, the pathway to securing her first Group 1 finalist has been anything but your traditional big race lead up.

"Initially the plan was for him to be racing at Grafton on Wednesday night," Lawrance said. "So we're a long way from that.

"It was only after he went fast in an Ipswich trial last Monday week that we decided to nominate him for the race when we heard that they were short of entries.

"Then he went from being in the race to being first reserve for all five heats. After that I didn't really give him much hope of getting a start to be honest."

It was mid last week that betting for the Brisbane Cup was turned on its head with news that series favourite Jungle Deuce would be scratched from the $375,000 event.

The young NSW superstar, already a two-time feature race winner at Albion Park, was a casualty of the always evolving Covid protocols.

"Their misfortune was our good fortune and to see him make the most of the opportunity was a bit of a shock," Lawrance said.

"And now that he's drawn box one in the final we've got a chance but it's a fantastic field with some sensational dogs.

"I must admit it's been a pretty stressful week. I've been worrying about things going wrong but we've just stuck to the usual routine and kept things as normal as possible."

Winner at eight of his 17 starts, Land Down Under is a younger half-brother to reigning Queensland Greyhound of The Year Oh Mickey, a finalist in last year's Brisbane Cup.

"It's a big opportunity for myself and the dog's owners but I live in the real world, I know how hard these races are to win," Lawrance said.

"But whatever the result it's just a privilege to be in the race and I'm sure it will be a stepping stone towards some other big races in the coming months.

"We've had our challenges with him and injuries but fingers crossed that's all behind us now and he can start really showing what he's capable of."