Greyhound Kiss Me Ketut set for star run-in at Albion Park

CELEBRITY greyhound Kiss Me Ketut will meet his namesake from the insurance ad at Albion Park on Thursday night.

Celebrity greyhound Kiss Me Ketut with handler Jeff Jones. Picture: Angie Simms

CELEBRITY greyhound Kiss Me Ketut will have tongues wagging tonight when he meets his namesake from the insurance ad, Balinese Casanova Katut, as a touch of glamour comes to Albion Park.

Kiss Me Ketut will start a $9 chance in the Group 1 Brisbane Cup and the cult hero greyhound is playing the major role in the promotion of one of Brisbane's biggest nights of greyhound racing.

Ketut famously romances Rhonda in the insurance ad and the actor who plays him, Kadek Mahardika, will be trackside to pose for photos with the Victorian dishlicker and sign autographs for fans.

''We're really excited to have both Ketut and Kiss Me Ketut at one of our biggest nights of the year," Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club CEO Luke Gatehouse said.

''It's a rare opportunity for people to get up close to Ketut. We'll have everything from a Balinese photo booth where you can have your photo taken with him, to a Ketut cocktail.''

Kiss me Ketut's owner and trainer, David Burnett, purchased the greyhound for $21,000 last year and the dog with the catchy name has since won more than $100,000.

Burnett is known for having greyhounds with funky names, such as Freddy Flathead and Chewy Rumballs, and Kiss Me Ketut has a younger brother named Ketut's Kaput.

''The only problem with Kiss Me Ketut is that because of his name, punters always back him and he probably goes around at 25-30 per cent under his right odds every start,'' Burnett said.

''But he never lets anyone down. He will need a bit of luck from box six, but I think there is a good chance of him pinging to the lead and being hard to run down.''

There is a $75,000 first prize tonight and there is a good chance the cash will be going south, with Victorian dogs in the four top spots in betting markets.

National sprint champion Xylia Allen is the $2.40 favourite from box seven but bookmakers are expecting plenty of popular money to come for Kiss Me Ketut.

The night will also be the official farewell party for Queensland wonder dog, Glen Gallon, who ran into the record books for making the most Group 1 appearances.