The Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club and the Tara Tipsters threw their support behind last Sunday’s Dexter O’dine Grade 6 final over 400 metres at Tara Raceway.

And while there are grander races conducted at the local track throughout the year, this event was of particular significance for 15-year-old Dexter O’dine’s parents and family members who were on track for Sunday’s meeting.

The family is facing months of waiting in the hope that Dexter, of Mount Gambier, but currently in Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, will be able to undergo an Australian first – a double transplant of a kidney and heart in a child.

Such an operation would require months in intensive care after surgery. Dexter would then face a long stay in Melbourne as an outpatient.

His mother, Biance, has spent the past eight months in Victoria with her son in the Royal Children’s Hospital. Fair enough, there had been tremendous support but there were always bills back home.

Sunday’s race was actually won by the reserve runner Loads Of Money, who answers to the name of Boof – now a winner of three races and part-owned in Mount Gambier by one-dog trainer David Lewis who is also a member of the Tara Tipsters.

As things turned out, there had been a bit of luck involved in the win given that Loads Of Money had also drawn box one in another grade six event over 400 metres. Most certainly that would have been the race of choice but two scratchings in the final put paid to that.

Given that the black dog is something of a rail crasher, he got lucky when drawing box two (it could have been eight) in Dexter’s race. And he led all the way when defeating the John Little trained Cricket Tragic by 1½ lengths in 23.10 seconds.

Handling the winner was Coonawarra-based Pat Sharam whose association with Lewis goes back to the Glenburnie days of greyhound racing when she and her now-husband Stuey were more often than not on hand to assist with his runners.

Purchased as a three-month-old pup by Lewis and his son Tim, Loads Of Money is by US sire Need My Moneynow out of Saint West, a daughter of Barcia Bale and US-bred UCME Typhoon – the dam of million dollar stayer Fanta Bale.

Following previous litters by High Earner and Konomi, her third comprises five dogs and five bitches. All have won races with the most successful so far being Groovebird, a winner of seven races and $40,000 in prize money.

It was a good day for Need My Moneynow who not only sired Loads Of Money but also the Tracie Price trained winning littermates Wilder and Wild Star (out of Wild Marilyn).

And after the running of the Dexter O’dine Grade 6 final, the O’dine family joined Boof and members of the local greyhound racing fraternity at a presentation where they gratefully received a donation from the Tara Tipsters.

Meanwhile, in the previous race, the Todd’s Photographics Stake (400 m), another of the Tara Tipsters in Scott Blacksell was successful with Mocambora Izza, trained for him at Allendale East by David Peckham.

Chasing her first win since November 12 when successful over 400 metres at Tara Raceway, the black bitch showed she had shrugged off her seasonal woes with a dashing front running display when defeating Cadillac Ragtop by a half-length in 23.16 seconds.

By My Redeemer out of 12-race winner Raz’s Girl, the litter was bred by Peckham who had also trained the dam. Blacksell purchased Mocambora Izza as a pup and reared her at his Cape Bridgewater property.

Peckham and Blacksell are now seriously considering mating the rising four-year-old, a 17-race winner, with successful sire Hooked On Scotch.

Blacksell missed the win on Sunday, opting to “do the right thing” and catch up with his 83-year-old mother. However, he did manage to watch the race via his phone – much to the bewilderment of his mother.

“You know, looking at your phone, I can’t really understand how you can be so involved with greyhounds for so little return. Look, the phone’s showing W$23 so even if your dog wins you’re only going to receive a $23 first prize.”

Blacksell then had to go to great lengths to explain to his mother that the $23 showing was the winning dividend for a $1 bet and that the prize money for the race was considerably more!

And well done to Sharon Bradley, the other half of the Phil Lenehan operation at Toolong, on training her first double with Lektra Damian and Lektra Lyanna.

Lektra Damian, a son of Feral Franky and Lektra Rainbow, was having his first start in the Williams Crane Hire Stake (400 m) when defeating Ernie Deeds by 2¼ lengths in 23.37 seconds.

Then Lektra Lyanna (Fernando Bale x Lektra Perry) carved out a tidy 29.85 seconds and defeated Our Damiro by 4¾ lengths in the Commercial Hotel Stake.