The Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club’s annual Family Fun Day at Tara Raceway returned bigger and better than ever last Sunday.

Now in its fourth year, the Family Fun Day is conducted at South Australia’s four greyhound racing tracks during the school holiday period.

After last year’s local Family Fun Day had been cancelled half-way through the meeting due to the heat, this year’s large crowd – many at Tara Raceway for the first time – had been impressed by the track’s facilities and recent clubroom renovations.

Complementing the club’s catering, bar and TAB facility were face painting and a jumping castle, along with Seahorse Entertainment’s fairy floss, slushies and novelties, Spiral Spudz, Jolly Bubble Tea, coffee van, ice cream van and live music.

Greyhound Racing SA Chair, David Lewis, along with family members, was also in attendance as was Corey Wade, GRSA Senior Marketing Coordinator, and at Tara Raceway for the first time.

And once again – as is generally the case at Family Fun Days and Mount Gambier Cup finals – Kevin “KD” Douglas was on hand to ensure the kids’ running races went smoothly.

Then, of course, there were the 10 greyhound races which included all distances – 305 m, 400 m, 512 m, 600 m and 732 m.

Main race of the day was The Tankman 600, sponsored locally by Allen and Kim Cram who run the tank and gutter cleaning business. The one-off race carried total prize money of $6000 and not surprisingly attracted a more than handy field.

Leading local trainer Tracie Price and Two Wells owner Justin Tribe, whose partner Kiah Hurley won the 2024 Mount Gambier Cup with Chapel Road, looked to hold a strong hand in The Tankman with Bomb Luca and Statue Of Time.

As it turned out, the pair was always running first and second with Bomb Luca leading all the way from box two for a three-quarter length win in a quick 34.75 seconds.

A winner of six races since joining Price’s Compton kennels in September, Bomb Luca was bred in Victoria by the Dailly Greyhound Farms and is by Fernando Bale out of the US-bred JD Bombshell (KC And All x JD Forever).

And given that 35 seconds is rarely broken in 600 metre events at Tara Raceway, Bomb Luca’s winning time was pretty smart as was Statue Of Time’s 34.79 seconds when finishing in second spot.

The track record currently stands at 34.58 seconds which was run on December 4, 2022 by the Price-trained Giant’s Flash.

Statue Of Time, a son of Aston Fastnet and Pretty Much, has now won three races – at Mount Gambier (512 m), Angle Park (730 m) and Murray Bridge (455 m) – since Price took over the training of the black dog back in October.

And he was quick to enter into the spirit of the Family Fun Day, extending an invitation after the race to the kids close by to become acquainted with Bomb Luca as he made his way back to the kennel house.

Meanwhile, Winslow trainer Jon Malone made the trip over last Sunday with partner Aimee, along with Reggie, Maisie and new-born Marlie.

He also threw in a few greyhounds for good measure, including Borough Banker whose last win had been in April last year at Bendigo. However, there hadn’t been a lot happening since then after a toe injury sidelined him for some time.

But the son of Barcia Bale and Mrs. Mouse, raced by the Blood Toyota Syndicate, was back among the winners again when leading all the way from box two in the Commercial Hotel Stake (512 m).

“It was certainly pleasing to see the Geelong-based syndicate back among the winners with Borough Banker who races better when drawn inside,” said Malone after the black dog had defeated Kia Keeping by 3¼ lengths in 29.84 seconds.

And Bourne Lickety certainly went lickety-split for David Peckham of Allendale East in the Cadillac Racing Stake (512 m). Leading all the way from box two, the son of Feral Franky and Sweet On Me ran out a seven length winner over Belair Crown in a personal best time of 29.60 seconds.

The win was the second leg of a double for Peckham who earlier in the day had been successful in the Williams Crane Hire Stake (732 m) with the Becc Weinert-owned Fantastic Helga.

Leading all the way from box five, the daughter of Superior Panama and Fantastic Flossy was also a big winner on the day when defeating Mostly by 7¼ lengths in a personal best time of 43.65 seconds.