Wednesday, July 11, 2018

The Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club’s current alternate Friday afternoon meetings will be replaced with alternate Wednesday fixtures once greyhound racing commences at the new track in Murray Bridge.

MGGRC club manager, Barry Shepheard, made the announcement this week following a meeting with Greyhound Racing SA last week in Adelaide where the SA racing schedule was finalised in readiness for when the Murray Bridge track is operational – expected to be late this year.

“I believe mid-week racing at Tara Raceway on a fortnightly basis should work well for the club, along with owners and trainers, who will be able to run their greyhounds on a Wednesday and then back up again on the Sunday if they so desire.”

Tara Raceway will continue to run every Sunday, as will Murray Bridge, racing being conducted on what will be SA’s first one-bend track, while the two clubs will alternate on Wednesdays. Murray Bridge mid-week fixtures will be the first straight track meetings run in SA since those at Kulpara some years ago.

Angle Park will continue to race on Monday and Thursday nights while Gawler will occupy the Tuesday and Friday time slots.

Track categories will be – Category 1: Angle Park (Thursday); Category 2: Angle Park (Monday), Gawler (Friday), Murray Bridge (Sunday); Category 3: Gawler (Tuesday), Murray Bridge (Wednesday), Mount Gambier (Wednesday and Sunday).

Meanwhile, Shepheard said that as from Friday, there would be free entry for all Tara Raceway meetings, bringing the club into line with Angle Park, Gawler and Strathalbyn.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Glencoe greyhound Ramified continued to defy the odds when leading all the way in last Sunday’s Williams Crane Hire Mixed Stake (400 metres), easily defeating Banjo Queen and Blitz And Bolt in a quick 23.19 seconds.

The son of Magic Sprite and 13-race winner Hey Sexy Lady has now won three of his past five starts at Tara Raceway for owner-trainer Dean Fennell who at the beginning of the year was starting to wonder whether Ramified would in fact ever race again let alone add to his winning tally at the time of six.

“He injured himself early in the year and spent two months sidelined. Then, after one run back he was struck down with a mystery illness and I really thought that we were going to lose him,” he said.

“It turns out he had come down with a rare flesh-eating disease caused by a bacteria that naturally occurs on the skin of dogs, and can turn deadly.

“Fortunately, the disease was identified early enough by local veterinarians and after another three months sidelined he returned to racing, winning again at his fifth start back.”

Ramified will now line up in Sunday’s Trackside Meats Open Stake (400 m), attempting to string together three successive wins when he takes on a top field of short-coursers from box six.

Monday, July 9, 2018

Aeroplane Mo’s emphatic win in Sunday’s 600 metre Koroit Feature now has Ballarat trainer Trent Blacker seriously looking at the Eric Lewis Memorial (600 m), a best eight feature event to be run in conjunction with the Anniversary Cup and John Reid Memorial finals on Sunday, July 22 at Tara Raceway.

Owned by Blacker’s wife Zoe, a Racing Victoria Veterinary and Biosecurity Manager, Aeroplane Mo was quickly away from box seven in Sunday’s feature, virtually leading all the way when defeating Good Yarn, who worked home well after travelling wide throughout, by 5¼ lengths in 35.40 seconds.

Aeroplane Mo, a winner of six races, has done well for Blacker who has been training greyhounds for only two years and the son of Collision x Ritza Night for 17 of his 22 race starts, his wife recently taking over the ownership.

While the Blackers are now based on 10 acres outside of Ballarat, Trent Blacker, 30, was originally from Strathalbyn in SA and it was a win at his old home town track early last month with Sunday’s winner that he described as his most exciting prior to the Koroit 600.

In fact, Blacker’s mother Carolyn formerly successfully trained thoroughbreds at Strathalbyn while he spent seven years working for leading thoroughbred trainer Darren Weir prior to taking up a role as sales manager with Ballarat Volkswagen.

Aeroplane Mo is currently Blacker’s only greyhound in work, although he has several pups coming on and has further involved himself in the sport by becoming a committee member of the Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club.

The Koroit 600 has now been run for three years with Peter Byrne continuing to support the event with a one-month breaking-in package at his Koroit Breaking-In and Trial Track, Blacker most appreciative of the gesture.

“I know most of the trainers in today’s race were keen to win the breaking-in package as they have pups approaching breaking-in stage.

“Actually we have just had pups broken-in at Koroit and I can’t speak highly enough of the job Peter and Dustin (Drew) did with them,” he said.

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Portland trainer Nicole Stanley, who won last year’s Anniversary Cup with Fiorelli Rose, could have another contender for this year’s time-honoured event in the form of the 2017 winner’s half-brother Ben Nevis.

Off the race track since February due to an indiscretion at Angle Park, Ben Nevis, carrying the same name as the highest mountain in the British Isles, stood tall at Tara Raceway on Thursday afternoon when winning the Produce Store Stake (512 m) in a best of day 30.01 seconds.

By Return The King out of Sandown Park and The Meadows winner Tarks Jewel, the black dog looked well placed in a grade six, time-graded event as did the runner-up Lilly An’ Page who chased him throughout to go down by a length.

The win was Ben Nevis’s first since the end of November when he was successful at Angle Park, Stanley saying that a fair amount of time and effort had gone into him as a lead-up to Thursday’s Tara Raceway debut.

“He came down here in the hope that the finish-on lure might perhaps improve his racing manners although it still took quite a few trial mornings before we were confident enough that he was ready to race.

“Ben Nevis has now won five races, four of them on city tracks at Sandown Park, The Meadows and Angle Park, from only 18 starts. And after his Tara Raceway best of day win I think he’s probably worth nominating for next week’s Anniversary Cup heats.”

Fiorelli Rose (by Premier Fantasy), the 2017 Mount Gambier Greyhound of the Year, led all the way from box five to win the Anniversary Cup from Colden Girl and Brazen Blue in a time of 30.12 seconds.

Friday, July 6, 2018

While Warrnambool hobby trainer Peter Rowan has only “vague recollections” of winning a race at the old Glenburnie greyhound track, his trip over for Thursday’s time-graded meeting with Sanya Bay and Yolk’s Boy is certainly one he’ll remember for a while.

Having her second start at the track after running second to Assertive Fury last month, Sanya Bay led all the way from box one to defeat Miss Premier by 2¾ lengths in 23.87 seconds in the Metal Worx Stake (400 metres).

The win was Rowan’s first at the Lake Terrace East venue and his first with Sanya Bay, a former NSW bitch which had won one race at Richmond from 20 starts prior to him taking her over as a giveaway in April.

By Kinloch Brae, the winner is out of the former smart bitch Rozehill Sanya – 29.89 sec. The Meadows (525 m), 27.01 sec. Horsham (480 m), 29.28 sec. Sandown Park (515 m) and 25.18 sec. Warrnambool (450 m).

Speaking after Thursday’s win, Rowan, involved in the sport “off and on” for more than 40 years, said he had always been more than happy to simply potter around with a couple of giveaway greyhounds and have a bit of fun.

“As I live in a built-up area of Warrnambool the main thing I look for is that the greyhounds are quiet. Actually, Sanya Bay is probably one of the best I’ve had in terms of temperament – she’s quiet and clean and causes no trouble whatsoever.”

Yolk’s Boy is still to win a race after 40 starts but he was in the money for a sixth time when coming from well back to run second to first starter Cee Me Turbo in the Laser Electrical Stake (400 m).

By Fabregas x Rookie’s Girl, Yolk’s Boy (a litter brother to handy galloper Redda) also obviously has the right temperament as he’s been in the Rowan kennels since late 2016.