Nope Rope boxed to lasso QGOLD veterans

By Pat McLeod

Nope Rope may be in a veteran’s QGOLD Final on Saturday night at The Q, but trainer Matt Bourke believes the sprinter still has time, and now the track, on his side.

The approaching four-year-old is nicely boxed in the two alley in the QGOLD Veterans Final over 457 metres, which is part of a program that kicks off the 2025 Queensland Winter Greyhound Racing Carnival.

“He (Nope Rope) hasn't had a lot of starts (28), mainly because he has had a few injuries through his career,” Bourke explains.

“Right from day dot, from break-in, he had a setback. And, things just kept on happening to him.

“However, he has shown promise from the very start, a very nice dog and early on probably the fastest of the litter that I have trained. So, a lot of early promise and then some injuries.

“Despite his age, he is still a pretty immature race dog and hopefully he has got plenty of racing still in front of him.”

The Churchable-based Bourke, who bred the litter with Jamie Hosking, said another big plus on Saturday night, and for the remainder of Nope Rope’s career, was the recently opened Q1 Lakeside one-turn track.

To date the Aussie Infrared and Eight Green Cans chaser has raced on the track for a debut third and then three-straight wins leading into Saturday night’s $15,600-to-the-winner showdown.

“There is no doubt he has been calling out for this one-turn track, as his recent results show,” Bourke said. 

“I have a couple of dogs that are similar to him and just like that little bit of room that the one-turn track offers. I am loving this new track. It’s great.”

Coming out of box two should also suit Nope Rope’s race pattern.

“He doesn't really come out well and is a bit of a ‘muster dog’, taking that initial 50 metres to get going,” Bourke says.

“He is certainly strong enough as shown by the way he comes home. In two of his recent wins, he came from almost last.

“His first three starts on the Q1 track were over the 390 metres, but last week he ran out the 457 metres really well, so, as I said, a pretty strong dog.

“He won out of box one last week and he has a bit of a brain, so seems to get through the traffic better the more that he matures.

“On Saturday night I would say that he will probably lob in behind them and look for a run. A bit of space around the home corner is all that he will need.

“There is certainly speed in the race with dogs such as Black Comanche (trained by Ricky Hassall) and his litter sister Jen’s Joy (Hosking)

“If he’s a couple of lengths behind early that doesn't really matter, as long as he doesn't get too far behind.

“If somebody gets a break of five lengths or more, you won't catch them in this race. The first 50 metres is always crucial and as long as my dog stays away from trouble early then that will help.”

The litter which Nope Rope is part of has achieved plenty of success.

All nine pups have won and currently total $389,785 in prizemoney.

The most successful has been Jen’s Joy, who, despite serious injury, has tallied $103,195 in stakes from 28 starts.

There will be four QGOLD Finals on Saturday night as well as the inaugural $30,000-to-the-winner Lakeside Cup Final over 457 metres.