Wednesday, February 26, 2020
The wins of Golden Charm and Kentucky Sun, who book-ended Tara Raceway’s 11-race program last Sunday, gave greyhound trainer Mick Bowerman his first double in an involvement that spans close to 50 years and commenced down in Hobart.
These days based at Raglan in western Victoria, Bowerman’s periodic trips to Mount Gambier had resulted in Kentucky Sun previously winning three races over 400 metres at Tara Raceway but for Golden Charm her win in the opening race had been her first in 22 starts.
Lining up from box one in the Gordon Refrigeration Stake (512 m), Golden Charm went up with the lids, straight away setting a fair task for herself before finishing strongly along the rails to defeat Aston Prestige by 1½ lengths in a quick maiden time of 29.86 seconds.
In her current trainer’s kennels since early December, the giveaway fawn bitch had previously raced on 12 occasions for two former trainers with Bowerman saying one of her problems had been her box manners.
“As she showed today, she can blow the start but I thought she did a terrific job to get up and win. I was confident, though, that she was close to a win after having no luck last week when finding trouble on the home turn,” he said.
Whelped in March 2018, Golden Charm is by Dyna Double One out of Moonshine Whippy, the dam of several other Tara Raceway winners including Rattle Can You, Jacobite Hammer, Jacobite Jye, Jacobite Joseph and Billy Moran.
And following Golden Charm’s barnstorming finish last Sunday, Bowerman is now looking at trying her over more ground – 600 metres or further – granddam Kiacatoo Pearl a winner over 720 metres at Wentworth Park.
Kentucky Sun looked anything but a rising five-year-old when he quickly found the front from box eight in a handy Progreyhoundtips.com Open Stake (400 m), never really looking like being run down when clocking a best of day 22.97 seconds.
Doing the chasing was Vossy, giving the leader three years in age and something like 90 starts in experience, but considering the race time doing pretty well in the end to run Kentucky Sun to 1¼ lengths.
By Lochinvar Marlow out of Ticket To Mars, the SA-bred Kentucky Sun was purchased as a four-month-old pup by Bowerman who reared and later broke-in the black dog which has now won 16 races and run 31 minor placings from 98 starts for stakemoney of more than $27,000.
Last Sunday’s winners are raced by Tasmanian-based Adam Bowerman in partnership with his father who will hit the highway again this weekend, making the trip to Murray Bridge on Sunday with Kentucky Sun and Golden Charm.