The 18:10 at Central Park produced one of those results that reminds you why greyhound racing keeps you coming back. In a 491m Open Race that our model expected to go one way, Sussex Cyclone from trap two tore up the script and won going away at 4.50.
Our model had Sussex Cyclone rated sixth of six. Dead last in the predicted pecking order. Ask The Universe from trap four was our top pick at 5.50, while the clear market favourite Lets Go Girl was sent off at just 2.10 from trap five, rated second by our numbers. On paper, it looked like a match between those two. The race itself had very different ideas.
Lets Go Girl was sluggish from the boxes. A slow away at this level is punishing, and the 2.10 favourite could never recover her position, eventually trailing home in third. It was one of those breaks where you knew immediately the money was gone. Ask The Universe, to be fair, ran well. She showed sharp early pace and briefly led, doing everything our model expected of her, but could not sustain it when Sussex Cyclone came to challenge.
And what a run it was from the winner. Sussex Cyclone got crowded at the first bend, the kind of trouble that usually ends your chance in a competitive Open Race. But she recovered brilliantly, found her stride again and led from the quarter-mark onwards, pulling clear to stop the clock at 29.13. That is a properly good time for the trip, especially after the trouble she encountered.
Results like this are a healthy reminder that the model is a guide, not a guarantee. Sometimes you get a dog who runs above herself on the night, and sometimes the favourite has a slow away. That is racing. Full marks to Sussex Cyclone and connections for a gutsy performance that nobody saw coming.