Consummate professional Robbie was tipped to go head to head with up-and-coming speed freak Southern Lights over the 545m.
The only question was which greyhound would come out on top.
Robbie answered the question in powerful style to claim group honours for the first time after getting to within half a length of winning the 2014 New Zealand Derby at Cambridge.
The Ray Adcock-trained dog took up the lead shortly after the field left the home straight for the first time and was never headed, despite Southern Lights chasing down hard over the last 150m.
The pair had claimed their respective heats two weeks ago in contrasting styles - Robbie leading all the way while Southern Lights came from well back to win his heat.
It is hard to ignore the polish put on the greyhounds by the Dunsandel-based Adcock.
His "offsider'', Graeme Tapihi, who handled the dog yesterday, said Adcock was a pleasure to work for.
"He's a very good trainer. I like working for him. What he tells you, goes.''
The professionalism goes through to Robbie, who has now won 30 of his 56 race starts, and is nearing $80,000 in stakes.
"Robbie is a brilliant dog to take out and to box,'' Tapihi said.
"What he's done today is really quite nice to see.
"Ray will probably hold on to him for the New Zealand Cup next year if everything comes out right.''
The Otago Greyhound Racing Club also recognised the trainers who had supported them the most this year, offering a $5000 stake for the Invitation Sprint, double the usual stake for an open-grade sprint.
Rangiora trainer Garry Cleeve took home the spoils with c5 sprinter Keramus, a dog he part-owns.
