Tuesday, June 26, 2018
A return to winning form last Sunday at Tara Raceway for Bomber Creek now has Mortlake trainer Peter Crawley giving serious thought to next month’s Anniversary Cup (512 metres).
Although successful in the interim at Horsham, Ballarat and Warrnambool, Bomber Creek had not won in Mount Gambier since January-February when he recorded consecutive maiden and grade six 512 metre wins in quick times of 29.97 seconds and 29.88 seconds.
In fact, so impressive were the performances that Crawley was of the opinion that the black dog had the potential to be even better than his older half-brother, Zuma Creek, a 29.66 seconds winner at Tara Raceway in January.
Drawn favourably in box two in last Sunday’s winningformula.net.au Mixed Stake (512 m), Bomber Creek gained a nice rails run throughout, taking the lead turning for home and then holding off a determined Fascinated to win by two lengths in a near best of the day 30.23 seconds.
By Magic Sprite, the winner is out of the well-bred Skye Creek (High Earner x Bogie Skye), a winner of six races and also trained by Crawley for Danny Kelly of Purnim.
Kelly bred Bomber Creek and formerly owned the 2½-year-old prior to recently selling him to the Kings Choice Syndicate which had previously raced the Crawley-trained 2016 Mount Gambier Cup finalist Fluke Of Fantasy who went around 121 times for 18 wins and 31 minor placings.
Celebrating 39 years of greyhound racing in Mount Gambier, this year’s Anniversary Cup heats (512 m) will be run on Sunday, July 15 with the final – to be complemented by the John Reid Memorial Maiden final (512 m) and the Eric Lewis Memorial Best 8 (600 m) – run on Sunday, July 22.
The meeting will be a far cry from that of Saturday, July 21, 1979 when the South Eastern Greyhound Racing Club, as it was then known, commenced racing on a track inside the racecourse out at Glenburnie.
There was no tote back then but six bookmakers operated on the 10-race card which included races over 289 metres, 476 metres and 667 metres – Ralph Patzel’s Aqualair winning the first official race to be run at the track, a 289 metre maiden stake that was worth $25 to the winner.
The last race meeting at Glenburnie was run on November 30, 1996, Bushfield trainer Jim Williams winning the final race at the old track with Bush Emma.
Meanwhile, Bomber Creek’s older half-brother, Stellar Creek (by Cosmic Rumble), brought up his second win for Killarney owner-trainer Raylene Gavin who took over the brindle dog as a giveaway in February.
Lining up in the Williams Crane Hire Stake (400 m) on the back of a win over subsequent winner Usain Insane nine days prior, Stellar Creek was always on the pace from box two, taking over the running off the back and then holding out Bank Rogue to win by 1½ lengths in a personal best 23.35 seconds.
Gavin said that she and her husband, Kevin, both long-time participants in the sport, trained only giveaways – Pillar Creek, by Fabregas and another of Skye Creek’s progeny, also earning a cheque for the couple when running second to Hail A Cab in the Gordon Refrigeration Stake (400 m).