Thursday, August 8, 2019
It’s taken a while, but the Border Challenge between the Warrnambool and Mount Gambier clubs is likely to kick off this year.
Representatives from Warrnambool will meet with members of the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club committee at Tara Raceway on Monday to discuss the conditions and format of the challenge.
Basically, it is being proposed that the Border Challenge be run annually with four dogs representing each club and alternate between the two tracks over 450 metres (Warrnambool) and 512 metres (Mount Gambier).
Meanwhile, despite the recent closure of the Port Augusta greyhound track, the SA Country Cup will continue to be run, the $7500 final (515 m) conducted at Angle Park on Adelaide Cup final night, this year the date being Friday, October 11.
Heats will be run at Murray Bridge, Gawler (Prov. 2) and Mount Gambier – a far cry from back in 2008 when greyhounds from eight clubs made up the final at Gawler which, incidentally, was won by the Mount Gambier representative Tickets Please, trained by Robert Halliday.
Mount Gambier heat/s (a maximum of two) will be run at Tara Raceway next month with first and second, or the two winners, representing the club in the final.
The programming of the heat/s on Sunday, September 22 will allow connections of the Mount Gambier finalists sufficient time to trial at Angle Park prior to the final if they so desire.
In more recent times, Mount Gambier has won the SA Country Cup on two occasions – Moorak Hope at Gawler in 2013 for Tracie Price of Compton and in 2016 Berry Bling was successful at Strathalbyn for the Portland-based Nicole Stanley.