How about the reception Penshurst owner-trainer John Burow received after Good Yarn won the Rock’s Retreat Stake (600 metres) at Tara Raceway last Sunday.
This was the five-dog grade five bitches race where the four-year-old outsider Good Yarn, out of the winner’s list since last September, swept around the field off the back before running out a three length winner in 35.69 seconds.
But the round of applause a puffing Burow received as he made the long walk (his words) from the 600 metre boxes back to the finish line was surely worthy of any Mount Gambier Cup winner.
Then a series of high fives as he walked along the finish line fence just topped off the whole experience. And didn’t he lap it up!
Pearcedale greyhound breeder-owner-trainer Keith Hellmuth snuck unobtrusively into Mount Gambier on Monday morning ostensibly to check out a litter of Peter Rocket x Headline pups, recently whelped at Tracie and Karen Price’s Compton kennels.
Peter Rocket is the dog Hellmuth and his wife Lisa picked out as a pup back at the end of 2010 – the son of Where’s Pedro x Belron Blue one of a litter of seven whelped at a neighbouring property.
And after 67 starts for 22 wins, 29 minor placings and more than $328,000 in prizemoney it’s probably fair to say that the rest is now history.
The Hellmuths bred, owned and trained 16-race winner Headline, a daughter of Barcia Bale x Raya Riot, and with a pedigree that traces back to the legendary Hall Of Fame brood bitch Sydney Gem.
Also accompanying Hellmuth on Monday was a big white and black dog called Rockoon, a son of Peter Rocket and Raya Riot, and winner of last November’s Group 1 Hume Cup (600 metres) at The Meadows as well as nine other races and more than $124,000 in prizemoney.
Rockoon’s last win was in November at Sandown Park in a heat of the Bold Trease (715 m), prior to finishing unplaced in the final behind Fanta Bale and then going for a lengthy spell.
Tracie Price, fresh from another bag of five winners – Whatta Knocka, Banjo Queen, Well Done Woody, Sophie’s Moment and Summer Sprite – at Tara Raceway last Sunday, naturally enough is delighted that the Group 1 winner has joined the kennels.
“His three runs since returning from a spell have all been unplaced but according to Keith he’s still been trialling as well as ever,” Price said.
“I’ll probably give him a look at Tara Raceway on Saturday morning prior to giving some thought as to where he’ll have his first race start. The local track is certainly not out of the question as it could be an ideal opportunity for a confidence-boosting run.”
Hellmuth also confirmed on Monday that, following the Summer Classic, he would donate another Peter Rocket service to the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club, this one being attached to the August running of the Winter Classic.
Price has now trained five winners on three occasions this year, previously with Dimora Flash, Shine On Shannah, Swift Moment, Swift Limes and Hopalong on February 4 and Teddy La Moment, Penny La Moment, Bekim Lucy’s, Gangster Of Love and Hopalong on March 25.
Local and/or regular trainers Tracie Price, Nicole Stanley, John Little, Richard Clayfield and Nifty Lenehan will be well represented at Angle Park tomorrow night.
Price has drawn box two with Paraphernalia in the $6500-to-the-winner Shane McQueen final (600 m) and box seven with Cryer’s Plugger who will clash with Stanley’s box three runner Joshy Wink Wink – a 600 metre Tara Raceway winner last Friday – in a mixed 600 metre.
And there will be plenty of interest in the maiden 515 metre event when Price’s Smart Knocka makes his debut from box six against Lenehan’s Joshua Rocks, a recent placegetter at Sandown Park.
Bereluke has drawn box seven in the first heat of the Auction Series (515 m) for Stanley while Little’s Springvale Alysa will jump from box four in the second – the heats each carrying $3210 to the winner.
The Stanley trained Archaeology, a winner over Kolora Posie at Tara Raceway on May 27, has drawn box seven in a mixed 515 metre event while Clayfield’s Solitary Lad has drawn next to him in box six.
Kolora Posie, recent winner of a heat and the final of the Trackside Meats Feature Grade Five final (512 m) for Allendale East trainer Connie Miller, had no trouble making the step up in grade at Tara Raceway on Sunday afternoon when scoring a shock win in the Williams Crane Hire Open Stake (512 m).
Drawn poorly in box six, the daughter of Bekim Bale x Swift Blaze settled midfield behind kennelmate Chilly Kiss before taking the lead in the home straight, eventually running out a 1¼ length winner in a best of day 29.90 seconds.
Miller’s longshot quinella ($16 and $34 respectively on fixed odds) in a top field that included Hutch, Solitary Lad and Nimble Foot, took the former leading trainer’s record at Tara Raceway this year to eight wins, nine seconds and six thirds for 56 points and sees her now sitting just outside the top 10 leading trainers.
Formerly raced by her breeder, Terry Payne, Kolora Posie was taken over by Miller last month while Chilly Kiss, owned by the trainer’s granddaughter Clarissa Miller, was previously raced by Matt Morris of Wagga.
Morris, who bred and owns this year’s Mount Gambier Cup winner Xtreme Caution, is currently staying with the cup winner’s trainer Brian Weis of Portland and took in racing at Tara Raceway for the first time on Sunday.
Chilly Kiss, a daughter of Spring Gun x Chilly Babe, is currently in second spot behind Oh No Beta for Greyhound of the Year honours with four wins, six seconds and four thirds.
Meanwhile, Cap Abbott wrapped up a successful weekend of racing when the Shane Leach owned Shaniqua brought up her third win at Tara Raceway when scoring in the Produce Store Stake (400 m).
A litter sister to Kolora Posie, Shaniqua was sitting in third spot for much of the journey before finishing powerfully in the home straight to run down Cryer’s Harper who gave plenty of cheek out in front.
Since Molly Wally was successful at Tara Raceway’s opening meeting in early January, the winners have pretty well kept coming for Portland trainer Robert Halliday.
And Sudden Call, at his tenth start since his debut, also at the opening meeting, brought up the long-time trainer’s 20th success at the track this year in the Laser Electrical Maiden Stake (512 m) at Friday’s time-graded meeting.
On the pace early, Sudden Call, a son of Fabregas and Guru Doll, finished the race off strongly, winning by 5¾ lengths in 30.40 seconds, rewarding the trainer’s patience in the April 2016 dog that he also bred.
Halliday, and fellow long-time trainer Cap Abbott, of Edenhope, look likely to battle it out for third spot on this year’s trainers’ list behind Tracie Price and Nicole Stanley, Abbott landing a double on Friday when his $200 dog Emily As won her sixth race for him and recent giveaway Dark Vader brought up his third win in the space of a fortnight.
An earlier Guru Doll litter by Cosmic Rumble has seen Halliday enjoy success with Odd Boots and Brinza. Then in October last year he mated her with General Destini – four dogs and three bitches subsequently whelped on Christmas Eve.
This was a mating that came about after Hutch won last year’s Tara Raceway Summer Classic which also carried a service to General Destini.
Hutch, a son of Premier Fantasy and Cairnlea Ellie and a winner of 17 races, is the star of Halliday’s small, select team. As such, he was recently disappointed when a promised deal on young pups out of the Peter Hubbard-bred Cairnlea Ellie – and her litter sister Cairnlea Layla – failed to materialise.
Halliday had been a long-time friend of Hubbard, who died in November 2016 at the age of 56, as had Port Power coach Ken Hinkley, who is still involved in some of the Cairnlea greyhounds.
As it turned out, Hinkley had four pups whelped on February 27, 2018 by the US sire SH Avatar out of Cairnlea Shadow, a daughter of Cairnlea Layla and unraced due to injury as a pup.
“Ken offered me two pups and being really keen to ensure I always have a few young dogs coming on I jumped at the opportunity. It was a generous offer and one for which I am very grateful.”