Tuesday, January 14, 2019
Another impressive win by Killarney greyhound Spring Value at Tara Raceway last Sunday now has owner-trainer Kevin Mugavin looking at the forthcoming Group Listed Mount Gambier Cup (512 metres).
Mugavin was at Tara Raceway for last year’s cup carnival, the brindle dog winning a heat of the Produce Store Feature Maiden (512 m) before running a 1¾ length second to Galactic Titan in the final.
Later in the year Spring Value won a heat of the time-honoured Newman McDonnell Memorial (512 m) in a quick 29.56 seconds before overcoming a slow start and then storming home to defeat Scartnamuck Diva and Perseverance in the final.
Suited by last Sunday’s small field, Spring Value rounded up early leader Flash Jackie down the back before running away to an 8¼ length win in the Produce Store Stake (512 m) in a best of day 29.54 seconds.
The win was the second leg of a litter double for Mugavin, Cloona Reward impressing in the Trackside Meats Stake (400 m) with an all-the-way four length win over Azumi Stringer in a quick 22.86 seconds.
The win was Cloona Reward’s first since last September while Spring Value hadn’t won since November, Mugavin saying later that he would now be looking to utilise Tara Raceway on a more regular basis.
“Spring Value, in particular, races really well here behind the finish-on-lure so realistically I should be making an effort to get over here a bit more often, especially with the cup heats coming up in March,” said the two-time cup-winning trainer (Poetic Magic 2006 and Rich Shiraz 2012).
It was a mating of Temlee and Dark Debutante back in 1977 and a resultant fawn bitch, later to be named Val Matese, that started the incredibly successful line for the Mugavin family – last Sunday’s winners by Spring Gun x Magic Matese and tracing back to the foundation brood bitch.
Another winner last Sunday that goes back to Val Matese is 2019 Mount Gambier Cup winner Galactic Athena, successful over 395 metres at Murray Bridge for Worrolong trainer Steve Bartholomew.
Galactic Athena is by Paddy Whacker out of Galactic Rumball, her dam being Elite Touch, who has had a considerable influence on racing at Tara Raceway, and bred by Mugavin.
Interestingly, there was only one other pup in that 1977 litter – also a fawn bitch – later named Soextra, who also turned out to be a successful foundation brood bitch – for the Sinnott family of Yambuk.
Last Sunday’s Gambier Vets Stake (512 m) winner, the Tom Sinnott-bred Turn To Fab, trained for the Green Cloth Syndicate at Glenroy by Richard Clayfield, is a son of Fabregas x Mermaid Princess and traces back to Soextra.