Last Thursday’s greyhound meeting at Tara Raceway turned out to be a successful day for Glencoe husband and wife team Dean and Edna Fennell after they combined to win three races on the nine-event card.
And the treble was sired by Feral Franky, a winner of 24 races and close to half a million dollars in prize money before carving out a successful career at stud.
Two of the winners, Compton Bowie and Magic Poppy, are out of Perseverance, the daughter of Dyna Double One and Miss Freelove winning 16 races at Tara Raceway between 2019 and early 2021 for Dean Fennell.
In 2020 Perseverance won a keenly contested Mount Gambier Greyhound of the Year award after defeating Dyna Carnie by one point with a further point back to Keen One in third spot.
She had been so named due to her reluctance to initially chase the lure and the amount of time it took for her to finally switch on. Upon her retirement she returned to her breeder Karen Price of Compton where in October last year she whelped a second litter – this time by Bernardo.
Magic Poppy was the first of Perseverance’s initial litter to race. The brindle bitch defeated Menari Ace over 305 metres at Tara Raceway in 18.04 seconds back in early October 2024.
She’s the only greyhound owned and trained by Edna Fennell, who back in 2021 had won four races at Tara Raceway with King Smiley, a son of Spring Gun and Bekim Lucy’s.
And in last Thursday’s Williams Crane Hire TG5+W Stake (400 m), box six runner Magic Poppy settled in third spot down the back before finishing over the top of the front-running Classy Willow to score by a neck in 23.63 seconds.
In the previous race, the Ontrack Insider TG1-4W Stake (400 m), Compton Bowie, after overcoming an ordinary start from box five, found the front down the back before running out a comfortable 2¼ length winner over Compton Zirconia in 23.49 seconds.
The race was also a Fast Forward final and carried a first prize of $1065.
Compton Bowie is owned by Karen Price in partnership with her husband Tracie who a couple of races earlier had brought up his 100th winner this year at Tara Raceway as a trainer after Canya Feel It defeated Just Johnnie by a length in 23.22 seconds.
Among some of Price’s better days at the local track in the first six months of 2026 had been nine trebles, five meetings with four winners, along with a couple of meetings of five winners thrown in for good measure.
Meanwhile, the Fennell treble kicked off in the Carlin & Gazzard TG5+W Stake (305 m) with Compton Layla leading all the way from box two and eventually running out a three-quarter length winner over Cantara Pearl in 18.00 seconds.
Compton Layla’s dam is eight-race winner Galactic Horizon, a daughter of Paddy Whacker and Galactic Rumball and a litter sister to Galactic Athena, winner of the 2019 Mount Gambier Cup.
Making the trip back to Mount Gambier last week was Ararat-based owner-trainer Paul Hammerstein who was chasing his first win with the well-bred youngster Rose’s Marie, a daughter of Aussie Infrared and Quesna Dee Air.
Following two unplaced runs at Murray Bridge and Horsham, the 30+ kilogram black bitch looked well placed in the Cadillac Racing Maiden Stake (305 m) – a race that turned out to be a four-dog affair.
Although only fairly away, Rose’s Marie quickly put herself into the race when railing through on the turn to take the lead and run away to a 4¾ length win over Pick A Cadillac in a time of 18.13 seconds.
She’s a litter sister to Hammerstein’s white and black 32+ kilogram bitch Exactly Like Dad who has raced on five occasions for four consecutive wins at Healesville, Murray Bridge and Horsham.
PBD TO BE TRIALLED AT TARA RACEWAY IN SEPTEMBER
Preferential Box Draw (PBD) racing is to be trialled at nominated Tara Raceway meetings as from September. This will be based on early racing patterns identified by IsoLynx data.
Put simply, PBD racing seeks to place competing greyhounds into boxes that best suit their racing characteristics (particularly in the early stages of racing) in an effort to improve racing safety outcomes and reduce the risk of injury.
As far as the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club is concerned, PBD racing will be trialled at time-graded race meetings conducted at Tara Raceway on Thursday, September 10 and Thursday, September 24.