A training treble at last Thursday’s Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club’s time-graded meeting has given Glencoe-based Dean Fennell a good start to the 2026 season at Tara Raceway.

His last treble had been at the local track on Thursday, August 21 last year when he had been successful with Shanny Rose, Compton Tig and Saint Bree.

And at last week’s meeting Fennell’s big day kicked off with a win in the first – the Carlin & Gazzard Maiden Stake (305 metres) – after Saint Kylie, at only her second start, led all the way from box eight for a length win over Redemption Lass in 18.23 seconds.

Owned at Koroit by Peter Byrne, Saint Kylie is by My Redeemer out of Mepunga Stellar and is a litter sister to Linda Lou and Saint Ella, raced in the same interests and also both winners at Tara Raceway.

Fennell’s second winner on Thursday was Saint Bree, the third leg of last year’s August treble.

By Fernando Bale, and an older half-sister to the trainer’s first winner of the day, the red brindle bitch led all the way for a half-length win over Cheques To Burn in 17.79 seconds in the Trackside Pet Meats TG5+W Stake (305 m).

Bringing up his treble was Compton Franky who led all the way from box one in the Quickmix Concrete Group TG5+W Stake (400 m) for a 4½ length win over Jaja Ding Dong in 23.22 seconds.

Now a winner of 10 races, the son of Feral Franky and Perseverance is owned and trained by Fennell who between 2019 and 2021 had won 16 races with Compton Franky’s dam.

For Fennell, who first became involved in greyhound racing when it commenced at Tara Raceway on Lake Terrace East in 1997, this year currently sees him sitting in second spot behind Tracie Price on the Leading Trainers’ list with 11 wins, 16 seconds and 17 thirds.

Meanwhile, Portland training team Nicole Stanley and Nifty Lenehan are now giving serious consideration to taking on the forthcoming Trackside Pet Meats Group 3 Mount Gambier Cup with Mepunga Infrared.

This follows the son of Bella Infrared and Mepunga Molly’s impressive win over Rivia Umiko in last Thursday’s Ontrack Insider TG5+W Stake (512 m) when he won by six lengths in a personal best time of 29.68 seconds.

Stanley boasts several Mount Gambier Cup finalists, although she’s yet to win the club’s main race of the year. And Fabriola Zad, when handled by Lenehan, finished third in the 2021 Commercial Hotel Mount Gambier Cup.

However, Lenehan’s father, Brian, won the 1993 Mount Gambier Cup with Immortal Flash who defeated Ian Badger’s Aardvark out at Glenburnie.

And Killarney trainer Kevin Mugavin landed his third double at Tara Raceway this year when Val’s Legacy and Good Value were successful in the Sealeys Springworks TG1-4W Stake (400 m) and the Metal Worx TG1-4W Stake (305 m).

Val’s Legacy, a daughter of Equalizer and Cloona Lass, led all the way from box seven and ran out a 5¼ length winner over Extravagantly in a quick 22.95 seconds.

Half-brother Good Value (by Aeroplane Eric), gained a run as a reserve and also led all the way when defeating Rough Boy Rocky by 2¼ lengths in 17.81 seconds.

Then, earlier in the year, on January 22 and 29, brothers Good Value and Eric Quirk landed doubles at consecutive meetings.

Wrapping up the time-graded meeting was the Williams Crane Hire TG5+W Stake (400 m). And it was the Tim Richards owned and trained Ricki’s Burner who brought up his 18th win at his 100th start.

Away only fairly from box four, the son of Flying Ricciardo and Gold Burner railed through down the back straight before finishing the race off strongly with a 4¼ length win over Lochinvar Pearl in 23.17 seconds.

Gold Burner, a daughter of Worm Burner and Molly Be Nimble, won over 400 metres and 512 metres at Tara Raceway during 2020. The litter also included Coorong Lucy, a winner of 37 races and more than $153,000 in prize money.

For the Meningie-based Richards and his partner Tanya Bialek, the year has started off pretty well at Tara Raceway.

With 13 wins, 12 seconds and 10 third placings at the Mount Gambier track, he currently sits in third spot behind Tracie Price and Dean Fennell.

And Bialek has trained three winners, four seconds and a third at the local track.

The Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club’s Tara Tipsters completed another two-month charity-based series at last Sunday’s race meeting at Tara Raceway.

By and large, the Tara Tipsters series are made up of a group of regular racegoers who donate to the charity jar at Thursday and Sunday meetings and then endeavour to be in front by the end of the tipping competition.

The real winner, though, is always a Mount Gambier-based charity while the competition winner settles for bragging rights.

At the Lake Terrace East track last Sunday were representatives from the Limestone Coast Prostate Cancer Support Group – led by their Chair, Tony Duddy. And they were most appreciative of the Tara Tipsters’ support.

The group also went out of its way to promote their charity at the greyhound meeting with banners, leaflets and outdoor advertising.

Meanwhile, Shima Moon, whose first race start was back on December 4, 2024, finally broke through for his first win some 15 months later at start number five when successful in last Sunday’s opening race of the day.

Lining up from box two in the Greg Martlew Autos Maiden Stake (305 metres), Shima Moon, owned and trained at Portland by Nifty Lenehan, was slowly away but finished strongly for a three-quarter length win over Around Outside in 17.89 seconds.

By Fernando Bale out of Shima Glow, a winner of 10 races and $71,000 in prize money, the rising three-year-old red fawn dog is a litter brother to Shima Blush, a winner of nine races and $67,000.

Another 305 metre maiden followed – the Cadillac Racing Maiden Stake. And 2½-year-old first starter Poke Salad Annie led all the way from box eight for a two length win over High Cobber in 17.71 seconds.

Bred at Horsham by her owner Peter Carter, the daughter of Bernardo and Reinforcements found her way over to Stuart Sharam’s Penola kennels at the end of January.

“Peter had rung me to see if I would be interested in having a go with her behind the finish-on-lure at Tara Raceway given that she refused to run into the catching pen at the Horsham track,” Sharam said.

“I trialled her a couple of times at Tara Raceway where she didn’t do a thing wrong. And she certainly didn’t do too much wrong either when winning first up last Sunday.”

Poke Salad Annie is a litter sister to Lightning Quick, a winner of six races, all at The Meadows, and more than $33,000 in prize money.

As far as 512 metre races were concerned last Sunday, it was Kia Keeping who took the time honours with a 4¾ length all the way win over Rock It Kathy in the Icon Signs Mixed Stake in 29.98 seconds.

The March 2023 daughter of Fernando Bale and Ruby Keeping now has Hamilton-based Kyle Goodwin, who trains the black bitch for his mother Lorraine, taking a long, hard look at the forthcoming Group 3 Trackside Pet Meats Mount Gambier Cup (512 m).

“She’s now had 16 runs here for us since arriving from WA last October,” Goodwin said. “And she obviously handles the track pretty well given that she’s won eight races at Tara Raceway.

“With the $50,000 race paying $34,000 to the winner, it’s certainly not going to be an easy ask. But she handles the local track pretty well and we believe that she’s probably done enough to have a crack at Mount Gambier’s biggest race of the year.”

New sponsors, Tracie and Karen Price of Trackside Pet Meats, are on board for Mount Gambier’s richest ever race, which will kick off on Sunday, March 29 with a maximum of eight heats. Also on that day will be heats of the Ontrack Insider Maiden (305 m).

The first Mount Gambier Cup was run at Glenburnie in 1981 when won by Joan Cruise and Newman McDonnell’s Tara Topar.

And as was the case back then, leading into this year’s cup will be the Calcutta, conducted at Tara Raceway on Saturday, March 28. Compering the night will be Graham Gill while Chris Manser once again will auction the cup greyhounds.

Calcutta auction tickets will be available on race days from this Sunday at Tara Raceway for $1 each or at the special race day price of 100 tickets for $80 or 50 tickets for $40. On Calcutta night, all tickets will be $1 each.

At last year’s Calcutta it was the eventual Mount Gambier Cup winner Aston Gozo who attracted the highest bid of $1560.