Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Dale Hogan is the latest Horsham trainer to venture over to Mount Gambier and win his first race at Tara Raceway.
Hogan, 42, who has been involved in greyhound racing for 12 years, lined up with former Adelaide short-courser Emerley Giggler from box three in the Metal Worx Stake (400 metres) at last Sunday’s meeting.
And while this was her first look at the track, the 24 kilogram brindle bitch did come into the race with a fair sort of record, having won five 400 metre races at Gawler and one over 388 metres at Angle Park prior to joining Hogan’s kennels last month.
Obviously unfazed by the new surroundings, Emerley Giggler quickly found the front, leaving Bushman’s Bro and Slipper’s Away to do the chasing as she opened up a handy break down the back.
However, the trio turned for home virtually on terms, a slogging finish resulting in Emerley Giggler defeating Slipper’s Away by a half head with a further head back to Bushman’s Bro in a time of 23.56 seconds.
By Nolen out of Emerley Charmer, a winner of 16 races and $25,000 in stakemoney, the winner was bred and owned and trained for much of her career by well-known Adelaide participant Judi Hurley who has enjoyed considerable success with greyhounds carrying the “Emerley” prefix.
Emerley Giggler is now the second of the litter to have won at Tara Raceway after fellow Horsham trainer Judy O’Neill had previously been successful with Emerley Indigo on two occasions.
Hogan will be back on Friday for Tara Raceway’s time-graded meeting with his winner of last Sunday, looking a fair chance once again after drawing box one in the Greyhound-Data.com Stake (400 m).
For Slipper’s Away, having her second run for Richard Clayfield after joining his Glenroy kennels last month, it was a case of another near-miss after previously going down by a lip to Wise Stella.
Slipper’s Away is by Swift Fancy out of Slipper’s Tonic, Clayfield enjoying plenty of success in 2014 with Slipper’s Might and Slipper’s Will who were from an earlier litter by Lochinvar Marlow which also included Adelaide Cup winner Ernie Bung Arrow.
Slipper’s Might won nine races at Tara Raceway and was in fact the first greyhound to break the 23-second barrier over 400 metres when running 22.93 seconds at the end of March 2014, while his litter sister won 10 races in the same year.
And for Mumbannar trainer Monty Wilson the first two races on Sunday proved to be real “heart stoppers” after Go Saints was a half head winner and Bushman’s Bro an extremely close third to Emerley Giggler.
Give away greyhound Go Saints, a recent finalist in the John Reid Memorial, was looking to win her first race at start number 29 when lining up from box two in the Laser Electrical Maiden Stake (512 m).
In the end, she led all the way, Azumi Spirit looking to have her measure off the back but running even wider than the leader on the home turn before continuing a path down the outside of the track – Go Saints hanging on for dear life and giving Wilson his eighth winner for the year.
By the US-bred sire Kiowa Producer, Go Saints is out of Gold Chalice, a winner of 10 races, including three over 600 metre at The Meadows, and a bitch that traces back to the Lenehan foundation brood bitch Sydney Gem.
As it turned out, it was a good couple of days for the litter, Lost Love, a winner of nine races, successful on the Friday prior at Bendigo over 425 metres.