Hamilton-based trainer Kyle Goodwin enjoyed his most successful day at the track last Sunday when leading in the first three winners at the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club’s Tara Raceway 11-race meeting.
And it was Time To Burn who kicked off proceedings with an 18.11 seconds all the way three-quarter length win over kennelmate Cheques To Burn in the Federal Hotel Maiden Stake (305 metres).
Raced by the Hard Wyn Syndicate which is managed by Goodwin’s mother, Lorraine, Time To Burn went into the race with four starts to her name which had resulted in three second placings and a third.
Bred by Goodwin in November 2022, the brindle bitch is a daughter of Knocka Norris and Strength To Wyn, a winner over 650 metres at Shepparton in December 2017.
Actually, it wasn’t a bad few days for Time To Burn’s litter. On the Friday night prior at Geelong, litter sister Diva Eradicator showed plenty of early pace when winning over 400 metres at her second start for Avalon trainer Danny Gibbons.
In the second race, the Da’leni Meats Maiden/One Win Stake (400 m), lightly raced three-year-old Nearly Irish was chasing her second win at start number nine on the back of two unplaced runs at Mount Gambier.
Nearly Irish chased kennelmate Red To Burn until off the back where she took up the running before scoring a 3¼ length win in 23.52 seconds over the early leader who is a litter brother to Goodwin’s first-race winner.
In Goodwin’s kennels three weeks prior to racing, Nearly Irish is a daughter of Aeroplane Eric and Classy Sparks and owned by Shaun Boag, track manager at the Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club.
Penny Drop brought up Goodwin’s final leg of the treble in impressive fashion when leading all the way in the Exchange Printers Stake (400 m) and defeating Kahu by 6¼ lengths in 23.38 seconds.
Raced by the And Loving It Syndicate which is managed by Jodie Faralla, Ballarat Greyhound Racing Club manager, Penny Drop is by Fernando Bale out of All Dolled Up.
And Goodwin, 37, is the first to admit that Penny Drop is perhaps a bit better than he first thought.
“Actually, I’m starting to really like the dog and I reckon she’ll take the next step. Not only that, I am confident that she will also get a bit more ground,” he said.
Collectively, Lorraine and Kyle Goodwin this year have trained 25 winners at Tara Raceway.
Meanwhile, Glencoe trainer, Dean Fennell, following a litter double at Tara Raceway several days earlier with Saint Sally and Saint Shell, was back among the winners last Sunday with Saint Raine in the Todd’s Photographics Stake (512 m).
Saint Raine, a daughter of Bernardo and Saint Maddie, chased Aston Colette into the home straight before finishing strongly for a two length win in 30.17 seconds.
Saint Raine is owned at Koroit by Peter Byrne who brought the blue bitch over to Tara Raceway to contest the recently run John Reid Memorial (512 m). A heat win and runner-up to Bourne Model in the final followed.
Byrne then left her with Fennell who had previously trained Saint Maddie for 10 wins at the Mount Gambier track. Her only litter also includes King Owen who has won eight races and prize money of close to $60,000 on Victorian tracks.
And Portland-based Nifty Lenehan, who trains in partnership with Nicole Stanley, kept the best for last when My Boy Josh led all the way for an impressive 1¼ length win over Bad Move in a best of day 22.92 seconds in a grade five 400 metre event.
A son of Bernardo and Looks Like Turbo, My Boy Josh is raced by the Victorian-based Shantothemax Syndicate which is managed by Jason Farrell. The fawn dog has now won four races over 390 metres at Warrnambool and three 400 metre events at Mount Gambier.
Litter brother, Keanu Boy Turbo, also trained at Portland, won nine races and $24,000 in prize money. And to follow is a second litter – by boom sire Feral Franky.
“We reared the litter here,” Lenehan said. “They’re now ready to break-in and, needless to say, we’re holding out high hopes for them.”