Greyhound racing: Know Keeper primed for tilt at $80,000 Silver Collar

Know Keeper is aiming for 16 wins from 16 distance races on Sunday. Photo credit: Dave Robbie.

Manukau Stadium will take centre stage on Sunday afternoon, when two heats of the Group 1 Silver Collar (along with a heat of the Group 1 Waterloo Cup) will take place.

The headline act is staying sensation Know Keeper, who will contest the second of the Silver Collar heats. The son of Know Class and Know Jinx made it 15 wins from 15 attempts over 600m and further last Friday, and he looks poised to continue on his winning way off Box 2 on Sunday.

Prior to then, he's got a long journey ahead of him.

"I'll have to be up at around 4am to leave home at around 5am on Saturday morning," said Rangiora trainer Garry Cleeve.

"Then, we'll catch the 11am ferry which gets in at around 2:30pm. We'll push on to Turangi and stay there for the night, and make the short dash up to Auckland in the morning. After he races, we'll leave straight away and try and get the 2am boat back."

Cleeve says that Know Keeper is a good traveller – although he does like to stand up and watch where he's going – and his littermate, Know Account, will also be making the long trek up.

"I'm hoping both of them will qualify. The travel is definitely easier when you win. You can't get out of the place fast enough when you get your arse kicked!" he laughed.

"We are heading north with some expectations though. Know Keeper is really good. I worked him today (Wednesday)."

The greyhound has previously tasted success at Manukau Stadium, finishing second in the Group 1 Auckland Cup last year (over 527m) and fourth in this year's Auckland Cup back in March. Sunday will mark his first attempt over 779m, the longest race distance in New Zealand, a fact not lost on his trainer.

"It is still the unknown," conceded Cleeve. "As is the travel up and back home, and then the travel back up again for the final.

"But he handled the 747m at Waikato, so that has given us some confidence that he'll get the 779m. He's not a 520m dog that gets out to a big lead and falls in by one or two lengths – he's strong all the way."

This year's Silver Collar series also has trans-Tasman interest, with trainer Gerry O'Keeffe and his charge Here's Tears making the trip across from Australia.

Formerly trained by Robert Britton, Here's Tears is a Group 1 winner in Australia who has amassed $A455,845 in prizemoney. Notwithstanding the fact the greyhound turns five years old in September, he still looks a major player in the first Silver Collar heat, having won his last start at Sale over 650m on 15 May.

"I'm really delighted to be staying with Rob Roper and his family," said O' Keeffe, who trained the 2017 Silver Collar winner, Ring The Bell.

"The dog arrived a day late, but he was so well that we still decided to trial him on Sunday morning at Manukau."

He trialled 18.59 (4.71, 13.88) on Sunday afternoon out of the 318m boxes, and after coming through his trial well, he returned on Wednesday morning, when he clocked 18.84 (13.97 run home) on a heavy-ish track, after stumbling out of the boxes.

"All I want to do is qualify on Sunday – that's all I can ask for," said O'Keeffe