City of Mount Gambier Mayor, Lynette Martin OAM, was out at Tara Raceway on Sunday afternoon.
From a greyhound racing point of view the highlight of the day was the running of the 45th Mount Gambier Cup, these days a Group 3 $36,000 event and sponsored by Captain Abbott and Kerry Hawker’s Cadillac Racing.
But Mayor Martin had been invited out to the track to meet with Greyhound Racing SA officials and to open the refurbished clubrooms which have taken on a considerably different look than that of May 18, 1998 when Allan Scott OAM opened the original complex.
It’s hard to know what Mayor Martin had really been expecting, but she did say that she was amazed at what goes on out at the Lake Terrace East-based track on a Sunday afternoon.
“It was simply a lovely day,” she said. “And so well run.”
The Mount Gambier Cup is local greyhound racing’s biggest day.
And last Sunday was no exception, especially given that half of the eight-dog field had been made up of locals – Aston Apatite (David Peckham, Allendale East), Huntsman (Robert Chuck, Compton), Sharp Thief (Stuart Sharam, Penola) and Oregon Caldwell (Jason Newman, Moorak).
However, race favourite was Aston Gozo, trained at Ripplebrook in Victoria by Robert Pallotta for leading owner Ray Borda who also races fellow finalist Aston Apatite.
For Pallotta, who runs a transport business, his involvement in greyhound racing goes back a number of years although he has been training for only four years.
“For a long time it had been a case of simply learning along the way because work commitments had certainly been the priority. But by the time my kids had reached the stage of joining the business I was ready to take on the training side of things,” he said.
“And the greyhounds have now become a real family affair with the kids able to step in and help with the dogs at home when we’re away racing in places such as Mount Gambier.”
Pallotta took over the training of Aston Gozo in January 2024 following two unplaced runs. She looked lost at her first start for him but she’s never looked back following a win six weeks later at Sale.
Aston Gozo, a daughter of Aston Dee Bee and Aston Gwen, first attracted attention in Mount Gambier after Pallotta made the long trip over to trial the black and white bitch prior to the Mount Gambier Cup heats.
A quick heat winner in 29.62 seconds from box two, Aston Gozo lined up in the final from the same box. And after quickly finding the front she never really looked like being run down when defeating Sharp Thief by 1¾ lengths with a further 2½ lengths back to Darcy Dakota in a time of 29.75 seconds.
Her win in the Mount Gambier Cup win was Pallotta’s biggest in his time in greyhounds.
“She had run second in a Group Listed Pink Diamond (450 m) at Shepparton last June and is a city winner in Victoria. But today’s Group 3 win is something else. Actually, I’m now giving serious thought to trying her over 600 metres,” he said.
Once again, the trainer’s partner Jacqui Berry was handling Aston Gozo who has now won 14 races and $79,000 in prize money.
“Jacqui is a legend,” he said. “And when it comes to the training of our greyhounds I believe we complement one another.”
Robert Pallotta and Jacqui Berry, together with Aston Gozo, will now soon find themselves on the relocated Mount Gambier Cup honour board in the renovated clubrooms.
And with 10 greyhounds in work and a further dozen to follow, Pallotta is hopeful that some time down the track they will find themselves back at Tara Raceway.
It’s probably fair to say that Penola trainer Stuart Sharam didn’t really fancy his chances with Sharp Thief, the slowest of the eight qualifiers, in the cup final.
But the daughter of Fernando Bale and Millett ran the race of her life, falling short by only 1¾ lengths for Mildura owner Wayne Smith.
Part-owner and trainer Kerry Stagg of Parafield Gardens had been hoping his recent Murray Bridge Cup winner Darcy Dakota could pick up an extra $10,000 on top of the $26,000 first prize as the winner of both cups in the same year.
It wasn’t to be, but Darcy Dakota lost no friends with his third placing.
Also losing no friends were the placegetters’ trainers – Robert Pallotta, Stuart Sharam and Kerry Stagg. They presented themselves in outstanding fashion and did the Mount Gambier Cup proud.
