Monday, April 15, 2019
The win of Penny La Moment in the Rock’s Retreat Stake (400 metres) at Tara Raceway on Sunday afternoon saw her back in the winner’s circle for the first time since early October much to the delight of local greyhound owners Michael Robinson and Kerry Hawker.
Penny La Moment, taken over by Kevin Ashton in February, was having only her second run for the Charlton trainer when she led all the way from box two to defeat Hail A Cab by two lengths in 23.46 seconds.
For Robinson, the win wrapped up a busy week after Bekim Lucy’s, a bitch he owns in partnership with Willie Vossen, whelped a litter of two dogs and five bitches to the highly successful sire Spring Gun.
By Bekim Bale x Lucy’s Moment, and a litter sister to the former top sprinter Blazing Moment, the black bitch won 11 races, nine of those over 600 metres at Tara Raceway and one at Angle Park over 731 metres.
And for Hawker the win completed a good day after Giveaway Fury, who she races in partnership with her husband John, had scored a strong 5¼ length win earlier in the day in the Fairthorne Forestry Stake (400 m) over Midnight Ruby in 23.56 seconds.
Giveaway Fury, along with Free Fury, had been purchased in a package deal for $1500 by the Hawkers last month after the pair had won at Tara Raceway on March 20 for Monarto South trainer Tony Hinrichsen.
With Cap Abbott of Edenhope taking over the training, both Fabregas x Flitter litter brothers have now won since the sale, Free Fury successful at Tara Raceway over 400 metres on April 3 in 23.30 seconds.
Abbott’s day also got better after Black Spring, a son of Spring Gun x Lektra Scarlett, turned in an amazing run to win the JB Irrigation Stake (512 m) – the final of a grade five series.
Better suited over more ground, Black Spring was last early from box eight and as the field worked its way into the back straight he was still near-last and with a mountain of work ahead of him as Same Scenario looked to make every post a winner.
But off the back, the November 2016 whelping burst from the pack, powering home to run down Same Scenario, Bereluke and Molly’s Wally for a 1¼ length win in a personal best time of 29.99 seconds.
A winner over 600 metres and 731 metres at Angle Park, Black Spring has now won 10 races from 38 starts and is a member of a litter that also includes Lektra Spring, the winner last month of Victoria’s richest maiden race, the $25,000-to-the-winner GRV Vic Bred Maiden final (525 m) at The Meadows.
Galactic Titan kept the flag flying for the Paddy Whacker x Galactic Rumball litter when, at only his fourth start, he ran a best of day 29.85 seconds to win the Gambier Vets Stake (512 m).
Only fairly away, the 35½ kilogram brindle dog was challenging for the lead going out of the first turn before taking over down the back straight and eventually running out a seven length winner over Flash Jackie.
The win maintained Galactic Titan’s unbeaten record at Tara Raceway, the August 2017 youngster racing very greenly to win a heat of the recent Produce Store Feature Maiden (512 m) before defeating Spring Value in the final a week later.
Raced and trained locally by Robert Chuck and Steve Bartholomew, Galactic Titan’s only defeat has been at Angle Park earlier this month over 515 metres when he ran very wide on the first turn and looked totally lost on the city track.
It was another good week for the litter after Galactic Athena, on the Warrnambool Cup trail, turned in a brilliant effort to win a Mixed Stake last Wednesday night over 450 metres in a best of night 25.10 seconds.
But despite the brilliant efforts from two of the litter this week, Chuck, when asked if there were any more like these at home, was still keen to talk up one of the unraced littermates.
“This might seem like a big call but there’s a dog named Galactic Zeus who I reckon could be better than either Galactic Athena (the Fairthorne Forestry Mount Gambier Cup winner) or Galactic Titan,” he said.
Meanwhile, enigmatic staying greyhound Pirate’s Curse put it altogether in the Trackside Meats Mixed Stake (600 m) when scoring an emphatic 8½ length win over kennelmate Usain Insane and maiden runner Tee Tee.
In leading trainer David Peckham’s Allendale East kennels since early last month, Pirate’s Curse quickly barged his way into second spot from box six and while giving Usain Insane a fair start was always going to be hard to hold out.
That’s how the race panned out, Pirate’s Curse, also a winner at Richmond, Wentworth Park, Dapto and Angle Park, clocking 35.03 seconds – the fastest time run at Tara Raceway this year.