Monday, July 2, 2018

Group 1-winning greyhound Rockoon, for the second time in two weeks, set the track alight at Tara Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

A fortnight ago the striking-looking white and black son of Peter Rocket and Raya Riot, when having his first start at the track, was an 11 length winner over Hit The Runway  in a 600 metre event, running desperately close to McIvor Verna’s record of 34.84 seconds – 34.86 seconds to be exact.

Compton trainer Tracie Price was unable to get a 600 metre race for Rockoon on Sunday, the result being that he lined up from box eight in a more-than-handy Gordon Refrigeration Open Stake over what some perceived as an unsuitable 512 metres.

With a first split of 4.37 seconds, Solitary Lad ensured the pace was on from the outset but, realistically, by the time the field hit the first turn Rockoon had already put himself in a winning position.

And as the field moved into the back straight, Rockoon smoothly strode past Solitary Lad who is certainly one of the better greyhounds going around Tara Raceway at the moment. Main interest in the race then focused on time and margins.

Ultimately, the winning margin was 9½ lengths, Cryer’s Plugger, another greyhound unfazed by more ground, running second while Solitary Lad was a further 1½ lengths back in third spot.

Needless to say, Price – whose greyhound Magic Assassin holds the record over the now-defunct 277 metre distance – was happy with the result. Even happier, though, when the semaphore board settled on a track record 29.28 seconds as the winning time.

“One down, two to go,” the winning trainer said, suggesting that the 600 metre and 732 metre records also were not beyond Rockoon’s reach. Was he serious? Most assuredly!

Rokoon’s run on Sunday was the third time this year that the 512 metre time has been lowered – Lektra Stomp breaking Mojito Mayhem’s 29.52 seconds with a run of 29.45 seconds in a heat of this year’s Mount Gambier Cup on March 11.

Lektra Stomp then lowered his own record when clocking 29.35 seconds on April 20, winning by 12 lengths over Hit The Runway who seemingly is the whipping boy on the majority of occasions that a quick time is run.

Interestingly, both Lektra Stomp and Rokoon’s dams – Lektra Angie and Raya Riot – trace back to the Hall Of Fame brood bitch Sydney Gem, a daughter of Lively Band and Monalee Again.

Speaking after Sunday’s record-breaking effort, Price said he was seriously looking at running the Keith Hellmuth-owned Rockoon in the Ladbrokes Darwin Cup (537 m), a $25,000-to-the-winner Group 3 event, heats of which will be run on Sunday, July 29 and the final a week later.

“I’ve run it past Keith and he’s left the final decision up to me,” Price said. “Having been up there last year and making the final with Blazing Moment I’ve got some idea of what is required. I reckon it’s a track that favours strong dogs so Rocky would be well suited.”

Meanwhile, Price reports that there is plenty of interest in his recently-whelped Peter Rocket litter which is bred on similar lines to Rockoon, the dam being Headline, a daughter of Raya Riot and a winner of 16 races and more than $53,000 in prizemoney.

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Sunday, July 1, 2018

Monarto South trainer Tony Hinrichsen landed his second treble in the space of two days when Lochey Swift, Trouble Waters and Spring Leesa were successful at Tara Raceway’s Friday afternoon time-graded meeting.

The treble followed on from Wednesday afternoon at Angle Park where Lochey Swift and Spring Leesa had also won, along with Natural Fury.

Friday’s Trackside Meats Stake (400 metres) resulted in Lochey Swift leading all the way from box six to defeat kennelmate Assertive Fury who worked home well to be beaten by two lengths in 23.63 seconds.

Then, in the South Eastern Hotel Stake (400 m), Hard Call, after taking advantage of early interference, found the front and looked certain to bring up his second win in 31 starts before Trouble Waters finished strongly in the home straight to win by three-quarters of a length in 23.60 seconds.

Hinrichsen is Trouble Waters’s third trainer, the win his first with the beautifully bred daughter of Fernando Bale and Hope’s Up, a winner of 39 races and $85,000 in stakemoney and also the dam of recent Howard Ashton Group 3 winner Waterloo Kate at Angle Park.

But it was the “iron dog” Spring Leesa who tidied up the day in fine fashion for Hinrichsen, running down Osanna in the home straight to score by a length in the Gambier Vets Stake (400 m) – her third win in the space of seven days after kicking off her hat-trick at Strathalbyn on the Friday prior.

Bred by former NSW breeder-owner-trainer Greg Board, these days based at Murray Bridge, Spring Leesa is by Dyna Lachlan out of Sera Bale, a winner of six races on NSW tracks, including Wentworth Park.

A winner of 14 races, as well as running 42 minor placings, the wonderfully durable Spring Leesa, at 3½ years of age, has now raced on 103 occasions, Hinrichsen taking over the brindle bitch as a maiden performer early in 2017.

Involved in the sport on a continuous basis for the past 16 years, and based at Monarto South for the past two years after previously training out of Adelaide suburbia, Friday’s treble was his second at Tara Raceway this year – San Tan Sam, Filthy Phantom and Focused Fury successful on May 19.

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Thursday, June 28, 2018

Glenroy trainer Richard Clayfield, in looking to assess his chances of winning a second Anniversary Cup next month at the Lake Terrace East venue, should get some idea of where he’s at when his top sprinter Solitary Lad lines up against a classy field in Sunday’s Gordon Refrigeration Open Stake (512 metres) at Tara Raceway.

Clayfield’s previous cup win was in 2011 when Glenville Maggie defeated the Tom Cryer trained Cryer’s Tiger – winner of the 2010 Anniversary Cup – in a then race-record time of 30.18 seconds for the 512 metre journey.

Solitary Lad, a winner of five races this year at Horsham and Tara Raceway, will clash on Sunday with proven sprinters Blitz And Bolt, having his first 512 metre run since last October after some recent impressive 400 metre efforts, and Bomber Creek who found winning form again at the local track last Sunday.

Raced by Ann Sinnott, Solitary Lad will be chasing his third feature success at the local track after wins in last year’s John Reid Memorial and the Winter Classic.

And adding even more interest will be the inclusion in the field of Cryer’s Plugger  and Rockoon, both better known over the longer journey but both more than capable over 512 metres.

In fact, the last time the Cryer-trained Cryer’s Plugger drew box one over 512 metres at Tara Raceway was back in October when he clocked a sizzling near-record 29.64 seconds while Rockoon has outstanding times of 29.52 seconds over 515 metres at Sandown Park and 29.84 seconds for the 525 metre journey at The Meadows.

Rockoon, a Group 1 winner at The Meadows late last year, created a real buzz when he made his debut at Tara Raceway a fortnight ago.

Actually, there was an air of expectancy at the track that Sunday afternoon as trainer Tracie Price led Rockoon to the 600 metre boxes, the big white and black dog certainly not letting down his on-course supporters when winning by 11 lengths in close to record time.

One gets the impression that Price is still pinching himself that he has Rockoon in his Compton kennels.

“He’s settled in extra well,” he said. “And when we’re out walking in the scrub with him he takes in everything without going overboard. Really, he’s just a pleasure to have around the place.”

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Thursday, June 28, 2018

Sunday’s Greyhound-Data.com Mixed Stake (600 m) will now be run as a lead-in to the Koroit 600 final on Sunday week (July 8) at Tara Raceway.

The runners in Sunday’s event were nominated for heats of the Koroit 600 but there were insufficient nominations to run the required two heats.

As a result, nominations for the one-off final will close on Tuesday morning at 9 o’clock with Greyhound Racing SA, however it should be pointed out that greyhounds contesting Sunday’s mixed 4/5 stake will be given first preference for the final on Sunday week provided trainers of those dogs renominate.

The winner of the Koroit 600 will also receive a four-week breaking-in package at the Koroit Trial Track, which has been donated by Peter Byrne.

An interesting runner in the lead-in race is the Jeff-Guy trained Frac Geek, a beautifully bred daughter of Where’s Pedro and Proven Impala (a winner of 31 races and more than $360,000 in stakemoney).

A winner of 12 races at Sandown Park, The Meadows, Mount Gambier, Horsham and Bendigo, Frac Geek’s last 600 metre win was at Tara Raceway in September when she ran a tidy time of 35.35 seconds.

The four-year-old black bitch will be having her first run back after whelping a litter of four dogs and four bitches in early February to leading sire Barcia Bale.

The Horsham-based Guy, who won the 2016 Koroit 600 with Brazen Bomber, said that Frac Geek completed her whelping trial to the satisfaction of stewards last month at Horsham and that she was working well.

“It’s the owners’ intentions to now keep her going until she is next on season,” he said.

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Thursday, June 28, 2018

Commencing at Sunday’s meeting, unplaced prizemoney of $15 a runner will no longer be paid.

This will be replaced with a Trainer Raceday Subsidy (TRS) whereby trainers receive $20 directly for each of their unplaced runners. The $60 trainer rebate remains unchanged.

The TRS applies only to meetings that previously paid $15 to unplaced runners.

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