Gifford Hill trainer Tony Rasmussen turned up at Tara Raceway last Thursday with an interesting runner by the name of Cash Or Cheque whose last win had been up the straight at Murray Bridge back in February.
A half-sister to Crash Bandicoot, a winner of 20 races, including the Group 1 Vic Peters at Wentworth Park in 2017, Cash Or Cheque is raced by Adelaide-based owner Nick Lalli who purchased the daughter of Lucky Chap and J’s Robin prior to racing.
Her breeding is different. Lucky Chap is another one of those greyhounds that retired with the more than handy race record of 20 wins from 39 starts and $73,000 in stakemoney but subsequently attracted little attention from breeders.
The US-bred J’s Robin, a daughter of Lonesome Cry and Boy Trouble USA, was the North American win leader in 2012 and subsequently was named in the All America Greyhound team of that year.
Cash Or Cheque kicked off her racing career at Murray Bridge over 395 metres in August-September last year with two wins. However, a fortnight later Rasmussen found himself facing a significant challenge after she turned in the boxes.
“It was a case of her totally losing confidence and it was some months before we had her back on the track again,” he said. “When she did return she won three races up the straight but today was her first win this year around the circle.”
Having her second run at Tara Raceway on the back of a handy third behind Brazen Crow and Fly By Them last month, Cash Or Cheque led all the way in last Thursday’s Metal Worx 5+ Wins Stake (400 m), when defeating Zen Prince by six lengths in a handy 23.23 seconds.
“I was pretty happy with that effort,” Rasmussen later said. “It was probably a good move to bring her down here to race behind the finish-on-lure and give her something a bit different to think about.”
Rasmussen, who had trained 80 winners at the end of March in conjunction with wife Lisa, said he was a great believer in varying tracks for his greyhounds and as such would be continuing to support Tara Raceway.