Cybertruck Eyes Seven Straight In Warragul Cup

MATT Johnson is hoping his exciting sprinter Cybertruck can continue his winning streak in Friday night's Warragul Cup heats.

The three year old son of Barcia Bale enters the group 2 series on the back of six consecutive wins, each in the best time of the night, and includes a new 500m Traralgon track record.

"He's going pretty good, he can't do much more than what he's done his last few starts," said Johnson.

Cybertruck made his debut in October 2021 and raced 19 times over the following 12 months, winning eight. While he showed glimpses of his prodigious talent, he lacked consistency – particularly at box rise.

FIELDS AND FORM WARRAGUL FRIDAY NIGHT

However, after a forced break following a failed attempt to qualify for the Melbourne Cup, the penny dropped and Cybertruck has quickly become one of the hottest commodities on the provincial circuit.

"He was always really talented, it's just taken him a little bit to get more consistent out of the boxes," Johnson explained.

"I tried to put him in bigger races early on like the Launching Pad. He was fast enough but just didn't have the maturity to deal with those tougher dogs in those races, but now he's a bit bigger and stronger and tougher and hopefully he's ready to take on the big boys.

“He's going well in the lower grades, but there's a bit more pressure on in the big race heats and finals."

Cybertruck faces a big step up in class when he takes his place in the Warragul Cup heats, however Johnson is hopeful that he'll measure up – especially from box 1 from which he's undefeated in four starts.

"Box 1 is good for him. Matt's Hope (box 2) is probably the one to beat – he's an absolute jet and he can match him early, if not go faster than Cybertruck.

“There's a lot of good dogs in the race so he'll have to be on his ‘A' game, jump out well and get out in front.

"Once he hits the ground he's got a crazy turn of foot – just absolutely takes off – he just needs that clear run in the first 20-30 metres to accelerate."

Keep on truckin'

CYBERTRUCK extended his winning streak to six races with a dominant seven-length victory at Traralgon.

Make sure the Traralgon 500-metre track record holder is in your Watchdog Blackbook ?#GreyhoundRacing pic.twitter.com/35Eau091d1

— WatchDog Racing (@WatchDogRacing) December 28, 2022

Johnson, 33, took up training around five years ago after returning to the small mid-Gippsland town of Mirboo North following a short stint living in Melbourne.

His first greyhound, Poise, the dam of Cybertruck, won five city races and qualified for the 2019 group 1 Sapphire Crown final. Johnson concedes his inexperience at the time meant he didn't fully appreciate how difficult it is to compete at that level.

"It was pretty exciting, Zipping Bailey, the Easter Egg winner was in it, Neo Cleo was an absolute star and ended up winning it. It was a bloody good field,” Johnson said.

"I don't think I understood at the time how big of a deal it is and how hard it is to make a race like that. Having a dog that is more talented – this dog – and is still to get to a group final shows me how hard it is and how impressive it was for her to do that."

Poise would go on to produce Cybertruck in Johnson's first foray into breeding, but while the 33 year old is enjoying success in both racing and breeding, he has no plans to increase his racing team. Instead, he's determined to focus on ensuring his involvement in the sport is an enjoyable hobby.

"I love all of my dogs, they're great to have around and keep me busy running around the state trying to find wins for them,” he added.

“The brother and sister who I have home here with me, they're both extremely talented too but have had no luck with injuries, but for him to put it together and show how good they are is pretty good, especially being the first litter that I've bred.

"And being from ‘Hayley' (Poise) who is my favourite dog in the world – she's an absolutely beautiful dog, so easy going – makes it more special.

"But I like having a small team and I don't like there being any pressure on my dogs to have to do anything in particular for my living. I like having a few part time jobs and not rely on the dogs.

"It takes up a lot more of my time than anything else, but I definitely want to keep it at that point where it's not on the dogs to make me a living, I think it makes it a lot more relaxing and enjoyable spending the time with the dogs doing what you need to do to help them perform."

The Warragul Cup series shapes as one of the strongest provincial series in recent times, starring the world's highest prize money winner, Wow She's Fast, as well as group race winners Typhoon Sammy, Ferdando Mick and Paua Of Buddy.

Cybertruck is the $2.20 favourite in heat 4 (race 7) at 8.57pm.