Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Robert Wombwell, fresh from a recent win at Tara Raceway with Banjo Bonito, returned last Sunday for further success with Rampaging Rick who was having his first Tara Raceway start and his first for the Coleraine trainer.

Coming into the Klaassens Contractors Stake (400 m) on the back of five unplaced runs on Victorian tracks, the black dog was quickly away from box four and never headed, eventually defeating Mordred by 1½ lengths in 23.28 seconds, a more than handy time for maiden performers.

Rampaging Rick has been in Wombwell’s kennels for only a few weeks, making the switch after owner Verity Cotton had been forced to move him on due to kennel constraints.

The win came as no surprise to Wombwell who said the black dog had recently trialled very well at Tara Raceway.

“I gave him only one trial at the track but he looked pretty good and as a result I reckon he could be good enough to also go elsewhere to race,” he said.

Rampaging Rick is by Paradise Madison, an Irish sire with a fair amount of Australian blood, out of Noela’s Dream, a daughter of another Irish sire in Milldean Panther.

Rampaging Rick’s litter, whelped in March 2016, also includes Bombora Thunder, who has raced on nine occasions for four wins at Geelong, Ballarat and Horsham.

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Sunday, May 27, 2018

An outstanding win by Paraphernalia in Sunday’s The Border Watch Stake (600 m) has resulted in the wonderfully durable 112-start veteran temporarily being switched to Tracie Price’s Compton kennels with a view to racing at Angle Park on Thursday night.

Trained at Horsham by Jeff Guy leading into Sunday’s open class race, Paraphernalia led all the way from box six, never looking in any danger of defeat when finishing 4¾ lengths clear of Hit The Runway with a further three-quarters of a length back to Cryer’s Plugger.

From an official point of view his time of 34.91 seconds is the second fastest recorded at the track, second only to McIvor Verna’s 34.84 seconds, although fellow Horsham greyhound Vectis Seyarda had recently run a 34.90 seconds hand-timed.

Sunday’s win maintained Paraphernalia’s outstanding middle-distance record at Tara Raceway – seven starts for six wins plus two track records of 34.99 seconds and 34.97 seconds – and took his overall winning tally to 29.

Joining him on the trip to Angle Park will be Cryer’s Plugger and Bekim Lucy’s who finished third and fifth respectively behind him in Sunday’s race, Price later confirming his plans for later in the week.

“Cryer’s Plugger and Paraphernalia will be nominated for heats of the McQueen feature (600 m), which is for the best greyhounds nominated, while I’m hoping to get Bekim Lucy’s into a 731 metre event or failing that also into a McQueen heat,” he said.

Price, this year’s leading trainer at Tara Raceway, continued on his winning way on Sunday with another four winners – Banjo Lass, Summer Sprite, Teddy La Moment and Sophie’s Moment.

For Banjo Lass, in the winningformula.net.au Stake, it was her second consecutive win at the track; Summer Sprite’s win in the Williams Crane Hire Stake was her first since early October in Darwin while Teddy La Moment ran a personal best in the Winmore Greyhound Kennels Stake.

And Sophie’s Moment, who made a winning return last week after a six-month lay-off due to injury, won again when successful in the Metal Worx Stake.

Nicole Stanley, firmly entrenched in second spot on the leading trainers’ list, took 512 metre time honours for the day with Archaeology’s 29.88 seconds win in the Rock’s Retreat Mixed Stake and Oh No Beta held off a determined Spirited Bingle in the Laser Electrical Open Stake (400 m) to move four points clear of Chilly Kiss in the Greyhound of the Year.

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Sunday, May 27, 2018

After a win with Mr Perfect at Tara Raceway’s Friday meeting on May 18, Charlton trainer Kevin Ashton was back among the winners again at last Thursday’s time-graded meeting when Saloon Princess turned in a tidy performance in the winningformula.net.au Stake (400 m) to defeat Chesca by 4¼ lengths in a personal best time of 23.36 seconds.

This was her first win for Ashton who has been training the black bitch for more than 12 months, the long-time greyhound man taking her over some five months after she had won her last race at Traralgon.

But it hasn’t been all plain sailing for Ashton and the daughter of Stagger, a winner of 64 races from 137 starts, and nine-race winner Hippy Chic who was successful at Sandown Park and The Meadows.

“Twice this year she’s copped suspensions, once at Bendigo for failing to chase and another time at Mount Gambier. So that kept her off the track for a while and then over the past three weeks she’s been required to run satisfactory trials at Bendigo and Tara Raceway,” he said.

“I’ve tried a couple of different things and I’m now hopeful that she will continue to race in the manner in which she did last Thursday.”

Saloon Princess is a litter sister to prolific Traralgon winners Tree Climber Liv and Wot Price Flash as well as Tipping Woody who raced well for Ashton at Tara Raceway during the early part of last year.

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Friday, May 25, 2018

Moorak owner Robert Chuck has been there before. Back in 2015, to be precise, when Galactic Viper, trained at the time in Victoria by David Geall, won the Group 3 Howard Ashton Classic (515 metres) at Angle Park.

Last night, while Geall was at Sandown Park winning the Group 1 Harrison-Dawson final with My Redeemer and picking up a cool $100,000, Worrolong trainer Steve Bartholomew was at Angle Park with the Chuck-owned Galactic Panther, hoping to finish in the first four of a red-hot first semi-final and qualify for next week’s $37,500 Ashton Classic final.

Bred by Chuck, Galactic Panther, a son of Milldean Panther x Galactic Rumball, had previously won the Peter Rocket Summer Classic this year at Tara Raceway and run a terrific third in the Group Listed Mount Gambier Cup.

And while the Panther’s Angle Park runs leading up to last night’s all-important semi-final had been fair enough, this race was another step up in class with Victa Louise at $1.30 obviously expected to win and more than likely repeat the dose in the final.

In a race that ultimately threw up some amazing results, the first surprise was Galactic Panther ($23) quickly finding the front from box two and, to be honest, looking the likely winner as he careered away from the bolters Madam Onyx and Minacious.

However, in the home straight, he moved out, the $46 box one runner Madam Onyx taking the short way home for long-time participant Judi Hurley of Two Wells and gaining the verdict by a neck with $100 chance Minacious, trained at Whyalla by Graham Brown, finishing third while Springvale Choix was the fourth qualifier.

For Madam Onyx, despite some recent solid performances, it was a win that really came from nowhere – her first win this year and only her second all-up after a maiden 400 metre win at Gawler in December.

But Bartholomew and the Panther are through to the final, the trainer, involved in the sport since the opening of Glenburnie in 1979, now chasing his biggest win.

And after the second semi-final threw up further surprises, Robert Chuck and Steve Bartholomew, a couple of long-time friends and workmates, find themselves lining up with the locally bred, owned and trained Galactic Panther from box seven in a Group race that all of a sudden appears very winnable.

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Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Kennelmates Cryer’s Plugger and Bekim Lucy’s, who over the past six weeks have been successfully making the trip to Adelaide’s Angle Park where more often than not they have drawn in the same race, will clash again when they return to Tara Raceway on Sunday.

However, Compton trainer Tracie Price said the pair would be back at Angle Park next Thursday night with Cryer’s Plugger definitely set to tackle the Shane McQueen Feature (600 metres) while Bekim Lucy’s could also run in the McQueen or possibly step up to 731 metres.

“I was keen to switch their tracks around a bit and reckon a run behind the finish-on-lure certainly won’t do either of them any harm,” Price said.

Cryer’s Plugger, owned at Apsley by Margaret Cryer, hasn’t beaten Bekim Lucy’s over 600 metres at Tara Raceway this year, running third behind the black bitch on a couple of occasions in February and March.

However, it’s been a different story over the middle-distance at Angle Park where he defeated Willie Vossen and Michael Robinson’s Bekim Lucy’s early in May before scoring an emphatic 5½ length win over her on Monday night.

The win came on the back of a top effort the previous week when Cryer’s Plugger ran the classy High Eden Snow to 1¾ lengths in quick time over 600 metres at the city track and had Price keen to talk up the brindle dog.

“He’s starting to get to know the track now,” he said. “It’s been a long haul travelling to Adelaide on a weekly basis but with every run he seems to be getting better and he’s now out and about.”

Sunday’s The Border Watch Open Stake (600 m) has attracted a top field, highlighted by Bekim Lucy’s in box four, Cryer’s Plugger in the eight and Paraphernalia in six.

Trained at Horsham by Jeff Guy, Paraphernalia, a former Tara Raceway 600 metre record holder at 34.97 seconds, led all the way in last Sunday’s Produce Store Open (600 m) to defeat recent 34.90 seconds winner Vectis Seyarda by 2½ lengths.

Meanwhile, current 600 metre record holder McIvor Verna (34.84 seconds), having her second run back after a three-month break, was successful at Bendigo over 660 metres last Friday prior to trainer Peter Franklin venturing over from Moyston on Sunday with litter brother McIvor Neville.

Out of the winner’s list for close to 12 months, McIvor Neville took over off the back and was too strong for Nimble Foot, running out a three length winner in 30.15 seconds in the Klaassens Contractors Stake (512 m).

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