Sunday, May 26, 2019

Track photographer Bronny Nicholson of Todd’s Photographics captured the Fairthorne Forestry Stake (400 m) runners in the parade ring prior to the running of the last race at Tara Raceway last Thursday.

Pictured with handlers are Nitro Heroine (Amanda Darmanin), Patchie Thief (Cap Abbott), Standing Bear (Paul Cusack), Don’s Just Under (Kevin Ward), Sandy Lagoon (Kevin Quinn) and Big Kenny Bobo (Wade Green).

Winner of the race was Don’s Just Under who, after a spirited early battle with kennelmate Sandy Lagoon, ran away to a two length win – his second consecutive time-graded win – in 23.47 seconds.

The win completed a good day for Ward and Newcomb-based trainer Noel Carthew who also won the opening race, the Laser Electrical Maiden Stake (400 m) with Don’s Just Under’s litter sister Tiger Seventeen and the Gordon Refrigeration Stake (400 m) with Mrs Hardwicke.

Darmanin, who won with Sure Load last week, once again enjoyed success in her own right when Miss Jacky led all the way to defeat Oemi Allen by 1½ lengths in the Gambier Vets Stake (512 m) in a time of 30.22 seconds.

By Pure Octane out of former Tara Raceway 600 metre record holder Miss Jacovella, the winner had been in Darmanin’s Mount Gambier kennels for only a fortnight, the win being Miss Jacky’s first since last August.

Quinn was successful in The Border Watch Stake (400 m) with the 4½-year-old Slipaway Bolt who finished over the top of Nix Jakit and Gin Lee’s Bullet for an impressive 2¼ length win in 23.49 seconds.

Trained by Quinn for all of his 97 race starts, Slipaway Bolt’s win at Tara Raceway was his first at the track and took his tally to 16 wins for owners Paula Bainbridge and Barry Augustine.

By Fabregas x Slipaway Candy, Slipaway Bolt is a litter brother to Slipaway Whitey who was successful at Tara Raceway in April for the Cundare trainer. Quinn also won at the track in March with Misty Warrior, who is bred on similar lines.

And Rockbank-based Green brought up his 15th winner at Tara Raceway this year when Janray Mazel Tov won out by a head in a keenly-contested encounter with Carthew’s Shadrack in the Metal Worx Stake (400 m).

The win, his fifth at the local track, came on the back of a Ballarat 390 metre win three days earlier when the son of Blue Lorian x Path To Hope led all the way to score at $25.

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Thursday, May 23, 2019

Locally owned and trained greyhound Galactic Titan soon put paid to a proposed trip to Murray Bridge after an outstanding effort at Tara Raceway last Sunday afternoon.

Raced by his breeder, Robert Chuck of Moorak, and trained at Worrolong by Steve Bartholomew, the 35 kilogram brindle dog went into the Greg Martlew Autos Open Stake (512 metres) with a record of four wins from four starts at the local track.

All told, the 21-month-old Galactic Titan had raced on only five occasions and realistically looked to face a fair task when taking on Tara Raceway’s best greyhounds that collectively had been around on more than 300 occasions for close to 80 wins.

But, it seems, reputations count for nothing when it comes to the Paddy Whacker x Galactic Rumball litter. After all, Titan’s sister Galactic Athena, raced in the same interests, had already re-written the record books with a win in March’s Fairthorne Forestry Mount Gambier Cup when barely out of the whelping box.

As such, Galactic Titan went into last Sunday’s main race as one of the main chances and, despite only an average start from box four, was good enough to have put himself in the race by the first turn before taking over down the back from the speedy front-running Springvale Alysa.

In the end, his 3½ length win in a best if day 29.69 seconds over 93-start veteran Cryer’s Plugger and Wanchai Express, a 2019 Mount Gambier Cup finalist, told the story.

Originally, Galactic Titan was set to contest a heat of a grade six series over 455 metres at Murray Bridge this Sunday night. Now he’s heading in a different direction.

Galactic Athena made her highly anticipated Angle Park race debut last week, looking well placed in a grade six bitches race over 515 metres but having never seen the track.

She was away well from box seven and after a momentary scare on the first turn she cleared the field, eventually running out a 9¾ length winner in a quick 29.66 seconds.

The littermates will likely make their way back to Angle Park in July for the Champion Puppy Classic (515 m), a time-honoured event that will ideally suit the August 2017 whelpings.

Galactic Athena was always going to head to Sandown Park tomorrow night for a heat of the Ron Nestor Memorial (515 m). Galactic Titan will now join her, neither greyhound having seen the track.

Four $5280-to-the-winner memorial heats will be run for greyhounds that are grade five at both Sandown Park and The Meadows – the final to be conducted at Sandown Park next Thursday night with the winner receiving $12,000.

Galactic Athena has drawn box four in the first heat while Galactic Titan will jump from seven in heat two.

It’s a big meeting at Sandown Park tomorrow night, highlighted by the Sandown Cup final (715 m) which carries $175,000 to the winner. Other $100,000-to-the-winner feature events include the Sapphire Crown (515 m) and the Harrison Dawson (515 m).

Portland trainer Nicole Stanley has drawn box six with Dyna Quota in the TAB Cup Night Stayers (715 m), which has a first prize of $15,000.

Meanwhile, Chuck said he would be more than happy if his latest brood bitch, Storm Allen, turns out to be half as successful as Galactic Rumball who is now in the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) after whelping litters to Milldean Panther and Paddy Whacker.

From the Milldean Panther mating came Faster Bolt, Galactic Cat and Galactic Panther, winner of the 2018 Summer Classic at Tara Raceway as well as third placegetter in the 2018 Mount Gambier Cup behind Xtreme Caution and Lektra Stomp.

And as an aside, Azumi Spirit, a best of day 400 metre winner last Sunday in 22.99 seconds, is a daughter of Azumi Touch who is a litter sister to Galactic Rumball.

By Bekim Bale x Horizon Bale, Storm Allen won six races at Geelong, Angle Park and Gawler (643 m) and is from the same litter as Allen Wake, a Victorian city-winning stayer that saw out his racing days at Tara Raceway.

Storm Allen has been mated with Dyna Lachlan and is due to whelp in early July although there was a time when Chuck was despairing of her ever coming on season.

“I had been waiting for something like three years to breed with her and in fact she was booked into GAP not long before she came on season. She’s now seven years old so this will be her only litter,” he said.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

The family-friendly sport of greyhound racing certainly doesn’t get any friendlier than that of the Mackareth family and their support of Azumi Spirit.

Local electrician Adam Mackareth is a one-dog owner-trainer and whenever Azumi Spirit is engaged at Tara Raceway his wife Kerry, children Coco and Summer, mum Jo and Ian and Val Kenny are at the track to cheer on the daughter of Dyna Tron and Azumi Touch.

And they had plenty to cheer about at last Sunday’s meeting when she led all the way in the Williams Crane Hire Stake (400 metres) to defeat Five Times Table by 6¼ lengths in a flying 22.99 seconds.

In fact, Azumi Spirit’s time was the fastest run this year over Tara Raceway’s short course since January’s opening meeting when Cryer’s Harper recorded 22.96 seconds.

Looking for a greyhound to race late last year after his previous one had been retired, Mackereth was offered Azumi Spirit by the Bartholomew family of Worrolong, the brindle bitch having now won three races this year – all over 400 metres.

“It was a generous offer on the part of Steve and Lee (Bartholomew) and I really appreciated it,” Mackereth said.

While Azumi Spirit had won two 512 metre races prior to her new trainer taking over, Mackereth said he was of the opinion that perhaps she wasn’t all that comfortable going into the first turn.

“Even though she had run several minor places for me she always seemed to be giving away big starts when coming out of the first turn and heading into the back straight,” he said.

“But it was only after she sustained a minor injury in early March and then trialled well several weeks later over 400 metres, which starts on a bend, that I decided to nominate her for a short-course race.

“So far it’s working well. She has now had four starts over 400 metres in April-May for two wins (22.99, 23.17) and two seconds.”

For the first time in her racing career of 29 starts, Azumi Spirit will now have a change of track when Mackereth heads to Murray Bridge on Sunday for a heat of a grade six series over 455 metres, her trainer hoping the one-bend track will suit her style of racing.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

While passing pretty well unnoticed, Tara Raceway track manager Tim Manterfield did remind us that it was 21 years ago last weekend that the South East Greyhound Racing Club (as it was then known) was officially opened at Lake Terrace East by Allan Scott.

The official opening on Monday, May 18, 1998 came close to 18 months after the first race meeting had been conducted at the new venue in January 1997 and took place on the Adelaide Cup public holiday.

The opening coincided with the running of the Smokefree Mount Gambier Cup final (512 m). And in what was always a terrific weekend, seven heats (winners received $150 each) were run on the Saturday with the draw for the Monday meeting conducted at a dinner that night.

This was the second Mount Gambier Cup to be run at Lake Terrace East, Warrnambool trainer John Drennan ultimately running the quinella with Manawartoo (top seller at the Calcutta with a bid of $212) and Stilson.

And on hand for the official opening was the committee of the day, led by president Craig Collins, vice-president Dean Fennell and secretary/treasurer Connie Miller who were assisted by Steve Bartholomew, Gwen Burdon, Des and Phil Dowdell, Stuart Gardiner, Allen and David Peckham, Terry Smith, Bob Thomson and Allan Virgo.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Murtoa greyhound Callanish Sprite, a desperately unlucky second at her first Tara Raceway start last week, should make amends for trainer Heather Baxter at Thursday’s time-graded meeting.

The daughter of Magic Sprite and Infinite Wish, a city-winning stayer in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and WA, last week made a real mess of the 512 metre start before finishing strongly to be beaten a half head by Mount Duke in 30.57 seconds.

Callanish Sprite has drawn box two in the Gambier Vets Stake (512 m), with Baxter, who rarely races at Tara Raceway, last successful at the track four years ago with Terra Verde.

And Molly’s Wally looks well placed in box one for Portland trainer Robert Halliday in the Klaassens Contractors Stake (512 m) as does Serendipity Gold in the Winningformula.net.au Stake (512 m) for trainer Sandra Elmes of Dunolly.

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