Storm Brewing With Typhoon Sammy Snub

IN a final “slap in the face”, Typhoon Sammy has been made first reserve for Friday night's Group 3 Cup Night Sprint (515m) at Sandown Park after having been ruled out of the Group 1 Melbourne Cup by the dead-heat Cup heat last week.

Typhoon Sammy is raced by the famous Dart family on the Northern Rivers of NSW and trained by Jason Thompson.

He led throughout to win his heat of the Melbourne Cup last Friday night but was controversially made first reserve after dead-heaters Koblenz and Jepara ran quicker time and booked a spot in the final.

Thompson nominated Typhoon Sammy for Friday night and he now has been made first reserve for that race.

Dart said he could fail to see what has happened.

“I am led to believe the Cup Night Sprint is not a Melbourne Cup Consolation rather a “best 8″ event and with Typhoon Sammy a fourth grader he was relegated to first reserve,” he said.

Dart was philosophical.

“It is what it is,” said John. “If the race had been the Melbourne Cup Consolation I suppose we would have been first choice of entry.

“But it is not.

“It is a bit tough though considering there have been 67 runnings of the Melbourne Cup and there has never been a dead heat to get into the final.

“And, he is the first dog our family has ever run in the Cup.

“He wins his heat and then gets balloted out.”

Typhoon Sammy (Aston Dee Bee-Zabaleta) is a sensational sprinter which has won 19 of 28 starts and 12 of his latest 15 appearances.