It’s fair to say that Mount Gambier’s age-restricted 512 metre Winter Classic has endured its share of ups and downs since first being run back in 2014 when won by the Tracie Price trained Stylish Moment (Spring Gun x Nicky’s Moment).
The 2024 Cadillac Racing Winter Classic, for greyhounds whelped on or after July 1, 2022, failed to attract sufficient numbers to run heats. In fact, there were barely sufficient entries to run the $6500 final after a scratching reduced the number to four.
But, for all that, the Winter Classic is a race that has been won by some pretty handy greyhounds. This year was no different.
In 2017 the race was won by Solitary Lad, who earlier in the year had won the John Reid Memorial Maiden. The son of Lonesome Cry and Up And Away was trained at Glenroy by Richard Clayfield who seven years later is now enjoying further success with the breed through the deeds of Shore’s Pick.
A winner of three of her past four starts at Tara Raceway, Shore’s Pick is by Bernardo out of Shore’s Girl. Both Up And Away and Shore’s Girl are daughters of On Shore.
The following year the Price-trained Smart Knocka (Knocka Norris x Who’s Doing What) took the classic to a new level when running a race record 29.85 seconds. Two months later the blue dog won the Adelaide Cup Consolation at Angle Park.
The Langhorne Creek-based Balboa Fury, trained by Tony Hinrichsen, lowered the race record in 2019 when scoring a big win in 29.84 seconds. And in 2020 Price landed his fourth Winter Classic win with Our Boy Thommo in 30.18 seconds.
Worrolong trainer Steve Bartholomew’s Mary Bridget (Flying Stanley x Galactic Cat) was successful in 2021 in 29.85 seconds.
Then in 2022 Lochinvar Cahill (Fernando Bale x Tears Some) lowered the race record to 29.57 seconds for Allendale East trainer David Peckham who had also bred the inaugural winner back in 2014.
Last year’s winner was Malevolent Girl who defeated Top Cadillac in 30.09 seconds. The daughter of Sennachie and Won’t Stop Her was trained at Branxholme by Laughlan McLean who three months later won a heat and the final of the Newman McDonnell Memorial (512 m) with the black bitch.
Bourne Model, tipping the scales at only 24½ kilograms, went into this year’s Winter Classic having already won the John Reid Memorial last month for Peckham and the Bourne Team which also includes Christine Yourgules, Kevin Patzel and Kevin Douglas.
Douglas, who had also been associated with the 2022 Winter Classic winner, was still in Adelaide come last Sunday after having received the Denise Fysh Award at the Nationals Gala Awards Night on the Friday night.
And Bourne Model, a daughter of Feral Franky and Sweet On Me – winner of the 2020 Summer Classic – led all the way from box four, defeating the well-credentialled Murray Bridge youngster Apilla by three lengths in 29.91 seconds.
Over the years Peckham has been a great supporter of the Mount Gambier classics for young greyhounds. And at the Cadillac Racing Winter Classic presentation he said while this year’s response had been disappointing he hoped the classics would continue to be promoted.
As far as the impressive Bourne Model was concerned, Peckham said he was now looking at the forthcoming SA Country Cup heats at Mount Gambier on Sunday, September 29.
A maximum of two $4000 heats will be run over 512 metres with the winners representing Mount Gambier in the $8500 final at Angle Park on Adelaide Cup night – Friday, October 11.
Meanwhile, in the race leading into the Winter Classic, the Winning Post Supplies Maiden Stake (400 m), the nicely bred Is He Lucky won on debut for Ararat owner-trainer Doug Hammerstein.
A February 2023 whelping by Beast Unleashed, the black dog is out of Made Me Blind, a winner of 24 races and more than $44,000 in prize money and a daughter of the Group 1 winning Maja Mahi Mahi.
Slowly away from box one, Is He Lucky quickly found the front and raced away for a 7¼ length win over Ike The Brute in 23.75 seconds.
“We purchased Is He Lucky and his brother Is He Happy from the Paraskevas’ who then reared them at Pearcedale before we brought them home and broke them in,” Hammerstein said.
“They’re still very young and as they showed today, still very green. We thought Mount Gambier would be a good place to start them off given the smaller fields for maiden races.
“There’s a long way to go yet, but we’re holding out high hopes for them.”