Thursday, June 6, 2019

It was on July 29, 2018 that the last 732 metre race was run at Tara Raceway. That was when Tom Cryer’s Cryer’s Plugger defeated Ethics – herself a winner of two 731 metre races at Angle Park and currently on the comeback trail – in a time of 44.40 seconds.

Two staying races – the second round of the Iron Dog – will be run on Sunday and once again Plugger will be right in the thick of it after an outstanding first round 600 metre win last week.

The brindle dog has a personal best of 43.64 seconds for the journey, ran in March last year when he defeated Bekim Lucy’s by a half length.

And that time doesn’t stack up too badly against long-standing record holder Nellie Noodles’ 43.45 seconds which was run on Mount Gambier Cup day on March 27, 2011 when she defeated Bowstreet Secret by 17½ lengths.

By US sire Flying Penske out of Gold Coast track record holder Classy Creek (Rapid Journey x Sheza Swifty), Nellie Noodles was trained by Robert Britton who on the same day won the Mount Gambier Cup with Banger Harvey.

Based at Lara, Britton picked up Nellie Noodles mainly as a companion for her litter brother Symmetry who ultimately won 24 races and $253,000 in stakemoney.

But Britton tells the story of how he was staggered at Nellie Noodles’ second trial for him.

“She ran 34.20 seconds at The Meadows and came home in 12.07 seconds,” he said. “Symmetry trialled straight after her and came home in 12.59 seconds.”

He then took her to Geelong where she won a maiden by 19 lengths. Nellie Noodles retired after 35 starts having won 11 races and $80,000 in stakemoney.

Interestingly, Cryer’s Plugger’s dam, Cryer’s Midget, is by Texas Gold, a pretty fair stayer in his own right that raced on 40 occasions for 21 wins and $94,000 in stakemoney. Texas Gold is also by Flying Penske out of Sheza Swifty.

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