Saturday, August 31, 2019
Kennelmates Spring Kissed and Young Rachel landed their third double in the space of a month at Tara Raceway for Parwan trainer Lewis Green when the pair was once again successful at the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club’s time-graded meeting last Thursday.
Spring Kissed, who won her maiden at Tamworth last November before finding her way down to Victoria, quickly found the front from box seven in last week’s Fairthorne Forestry Stake (400 metres), before running out a 5¼ length winner in 23.48 seconds over another kennelmate in Damo’s Pineapple.
Young Rachel, who also kicked off her career in NSW where she won three races on country tracks in a 20-month period before joining Green’s kennels, led all the way from box five in the Greyhound-Data.com Stake (400 m) to defeat Master Winslow by 1¼ lengths, also in 23.48 seconds.
By Spring Gun, Spring Kissed is out of Kiss Me Wench, a winner of seven races at The Gardens in NSW, while Young Rachel is a daughter of Collision and 11-race NSW country winner Nana Plaza.
From Spring Kissed’s litter also comes a greyhound by the name of Morse, a winner of 23 races in NSW, and a beaten odds-on favourite in the $8900-to-the-winner Red Dog Final (400 m) which was conducted at The Gardens last night.
All told, it was a fair sort of day for Green who also manages The Love Guru Syndicate which races Alf Mulwee, winner of the Gordon Refrigeration Stake (400 m) for Digger’s Rest trainer Michael Said.
The win was the second for Alf Mulwee, the son of Cosmic Rumble x Queen’s Boss winning his maiden at Tara Raceway in June when defeating giveaway greyhound Crazy Summer who then opened her winning account a fortnight later for another Parwan trainer in Debbie White.
And Crazy Summer looked anything but a dog that had won only one race from 26 starts when she overcame a slow start in last Thursday’s Trackside Meats Stake (400 m) before going on to defeat Don’s Trouble by 7¾ lengths in a best of day 23.23 seconds for first time owner Tracey Stephens.
Ryben Bill, a rank outsider at $23, broke a long run of outs when successful in the Klaassens Contractors Stake (512 m), storming home to defeat Conde by 1½ lengths in 30.49 seconds and bringing up his third win from 71 starts for Rupanyup trainer Kath Brooks.
A son of Milldean Panther, Ryben Bill is out of Wentworth Park and Albion Park winner Rybenbrook Britt, with Brooks’ stand-in Doug Blake saying that while the 35 kilogram black dog was often in the money he struggled to win races.
“That was his first win in close to 12 months and as he showed today he finished the race off strongly after being a clear last early. We always thought that 600 metre racing would be his go but he’s always been found wanting over the extra ground.”
Brooks then made it a running double after Kracka Barcia won his first 512 metre race – the Winningformula.net.au Stake – at Tara Raceway in 12 months, the fawn dog her 18th winner at the local track this year and placing her in sixth spot in the Ian Badger Leading Trainer award.
A son of Barcia Bale and Imani Bale, Kracka Barcia is raced by the Krackatinnie Syndicate which is managed by Michael Blake.
Just how the 5½-year-old Jen Shen would fare in the Gambier Vets Stake (400 m) created some interest among the sparse Thursday afternoon crowd, Hamilton owner-trainer Tony Harding going along with the sense of occasion.
There was indeed a sense of occasion – not many greyhounds go around 200 times – and Jen Shen gave it her best shot, briefly finding the front down the back before finishing a four length third behind the party poopers Crackerjack Tim and Topaz Warrior.