The form line on last month’s Mount Gambier Cadillac Racing Winter Classic (512 metres), for greyhounds whelped on or after July 1, 2022, has held up pretty well following the running of the Group 3 SA Oaks (530 m) heats at Angle Park last Thursday night.

In the Winter Classic, the locally bred, owned and trained Bourne Model led all the way when defeating the Murray Bridge trained Apilla by three lengths in 29.91 seconds.

Bourne Model, a daughter of Feral Franky and Sweet On Me – winner of the 2020 Mount Gambier Summer Classic – was bred at trainer David Peckham’s Allendale East Bourne Kennels. He races her in partnership with team members Christine Yourgules, Kevin Douglas and Kevin Patzel.

Whelped in September 2022, the black bitch fitted the bill pretty well when it came to the Oaks age restrictions – for female greyhounds whelped from June 2022 onwards.

“She’d probably done enough down here to warrant a crack at the Oaks even though this sort of series always attracts top young greyhounds from interstate,” Peckham said. “But she most certainly was going to need a run at Angle Park prior to last Thursday night.

“So she raced at the city track 10 days prior to the Oaks heats and ran a three-quarter length second to Keep It Zipped in 31.11 seconds. Given it was her first look there I thought she was worth taking back for an Oaks heat.”

Bourne Model showed plenty of pace from box three in the first heat of the Oaks – in fact her first split was 5.23 seconds, the equal fastest of the three heats. In the end, though, she finished third when beaten 4½ lengths by Flying Dinar in an actual time of 30.71 seconds.

With the fastest two third placegetters to also make it through to the $35,000 final, it was now simply a case of the Bourne Team waiting out the running of the remaining two heats.

Apilla, by My Redeemer out of Rosie Red and owned by Cameron and Yvonne Butcher of Meningie, returned a week after the Winter Classic to Mount Gambier where she was successful over 512 metres in 30.11 seconds for trainer Damien Smith.

And in the third heat of the Oaks, after settling in third spot, $19 chance Apilla railed through on the home turn before running out a 2¼ length winner over Dakota Ava in 30.39 seconds – the three heat winners running 30.39, 30.37 and 30.39 respectively.

Incidentally, the Butchers won the 2012 SA Oaks with Hope’s Up.

But Bourne Model made it through to the final for the Bourne Team after Bookaloo, a litter sister to Apilla and also trained by Smith, ran 30.72 seconds in the second heat. This made her a reserve in Thursday night’s final.

For Peckham, the Oaks will be a case of the long-time trainer chasing his biggest success in greyhound racing.

“Time-wise she’s going to have to improve a bit but with her early pace hopefully she can find the front again. Then, who knows, anything could happen behind her.”

And down the track, Sweet On Me could have more classic contenders following the whelping of her third litter in August out at Allendale East by Million Dollar Chase winner McInerney (Fernando Bale x Born Ali).

“The litter comprises three dogs and four bitches and they’re nice-looking pups,” Peckham said.

The inaugural SA Oaks was run over 530 metres at Gawler in 1971 when won by Bristol Miss (Takiri x Fullock).