Degani is owned by William McMahon, who now has the Doctors Kennels in Victoria with his wife Judy.

McMahon is the son of Billy and Roslyn McMahon, who will be known as long-term Forbes residents to many. 

William and connections now breed, train and race greyhounds.

They’ve been working in the field at Darriman for about 30 years now, and are rated in the top five in Victoria at what they do.

And Degani’s litter is a real stand-out.

The three-year-old dog is one of 10 outstanding pups, all winners, eight of those taking honours at city meetings. 

Their mother Surfonic, McMahon says, is Victoria’s leading brood bitch of the year.

One of her daughters had a win on Monday night, making the 100^th for her progeny this year and McMahon estimates they’ve amassed more than $1million in prize money.

Degani, who’s in the running for Friday’s feature race at Sandown Greyhound Racing Club, already placed second in one Group 1 race this year – the Silver Chief at The Meadows. 

“He’s a good dog, out of a good litter,” McMahon said.

But Degani hasn’t been racing in the best form his past few starts, he’s taken longer than expected to recover from a trip to Adelaide.

In good timing though, the three-year-old seems to be peaking at just the right time for the Cup.

He won his heat just one-and-a-quarter lengths outside the fastest qualifier in a personal best time of 29.30.

He’s pulled up well from that, and running from Box 7, his owner feels he will be competitive but not a sure bet for the win in Friday’s richest race.

With the starters who are either side of him, it could be hard for Degani to get out and get clear. 

The Melbourne Cup is the dogs’ equivalent of the horse race of the same name, and features $630,000 in prize money, $435,000 to the winner.

It’s a big night’s racing and McMahons also have a bitch in the $25,000 Provincial Plate.