Following the running of two heats of the Newman McDonnell Memorial (512 metres) at Tara Raceway last Sunday, local trainers Tracie Price and Richard Clayfield will be chasing their second wins in the time-honoured event on Sunday afternoon at Tara Raceway.
Clayfield won the 2016 memorial with Glenville Jester who narrowly defeated kennelmate Slipper’s Shadow while two years later the Price-trained Banjo Lass, a $13 chance, was successful over Shae’s Magic.
The enigmatic Glenville Jester, at the conclusion of his racing days, found his way into one of the prisons as a Greyhounds As Pets (GAP) retiree. Clayfield always maintained GAP couldn’t have found a better home for him!
Price looked well served in the first heat of the memorial – for grade five greyhounds – with Croatian Comet an odds-on favourite and Wild Milly a winner of seven races.
And Clayfield’s Shore’s Pick was the interesting runner in the heat given that the daughter of Bernardo and Shore’s Girl had never raced over any distance beyond 410 metres.
In fact, after relocating to Glenroy in early July, all of Shore’s Pick’s runs had been at Tara Raceway over 400 metres. However, it had always been Clayfield’s intention to try her over 512 metres in the memorial.
Raced by Tanner Ahl, Croatian Comet, a white and black son of Fernando Bale and Tangelo Fire, led all the way from box seven, eventually winning three-quarters of a length over Wild Milly with a further length back to Shore’s Pick.
Wild Milly was a fair way off the pace down the back straight but ran home well while Shore’s Pick was always on the pace and should be further improved by the run. Also through to the final for Millicent trainer Dave Green is Sher Zany, beaten 2½ lengths and better known as a stayer.
Heat two of the Newman McDonnell Memorial was a keenly-contested affair with Two Fifty Three, Lektra Lyanna and Lakeview Heather taking up the early running.
But the run of the race was turned in by Windsor Girl who made a complete mess of the start from box four, was all but tailed off mid-race and then stormed home for a length win over Lektra Lyanna in 30.37 seconds.
Trained at Dennington by Dustin Drew for close friend Mark Evans, Windsor Girl has now won eight races and close to $46,000 in prize money. And standing in for Drew last Sunday was his sister Aimee.
“I just couldn’t believe the run,” she said. “I don’t know what happened in the boxes but she certainly made a mess of the start. Anyway, she’s made the final and I’m of the opinion that perhaps she would be better suited out wide.”
Lektra Lyanna is owned at Toolong by Phil Lenehan – who won the 2017 Newman McDonnell Memorial with Lektra Stomp, a son of Walk Hard and Lektra Angie – and trained by his partner Sharon Bradley.
Interestingly, Lektra Lyanna is by Fernando Bale out of Lektra Perry who is also a daughter of Lektra Angie.
Also through to the final from the second heat is rising four-year-old Two Fifty Three, owned and trained locally by Adam Mackereth who always attracts a family gathering to watch his greyhounds race.
Making up the final eight is Lakeview Heather, a luckless fourth for Price and his daughter Sarah.
Masters events – 305 metre races for greyhounds 3¾ years and older – continue to be run on a regular basis at Tara Raceway’s Sunday meetings.
And the older dogs are running out some pretty handy times with the Bartholomew family’s Unique Pearl carving out a smart 17.60 seconds when winning by 2½ lengths in last week’s Winning Post Supplies Stake.
Age-wise, it was an interesting race. The winner, a son of Elite State and Dusty Pearl, was whelped on December 18, 2020. Placegetters Bourne Nicko, Paw Some Storm and fourth placed Mr. Anderson are members of the Bernardo x Dusseldorp litter – also whelped on December 18, 2020.
Meanwhile, the last two Sunday meetings for November will feature the heats and final of the Tara Tipsters Trainers Challenge, a 1-4 wins non penalty series to be run over 400 metres.
The Trainers Challenge is open to all trainers who have contested at least one series from the outset of the Tara Tipsters competition . The series carries a first prize of $2500.
