For the Hamilton-based Goodwin Kennels it was a case of a recent week-long three-state journey kicking off with an 11-hour road trip to the Richmond racetrack for the Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) Puppy Auction.

On board, Kyle Goodwin had two 4½-month-old pups by Aussie Infrared out of Princess Kiwi and a seven-month-old youngster by Aussie Infrared out of Hooroo Tears that he had been looking to sell at the auction.

The auction had been open to pups whelped between July 1, 2024 and January 31, 2025 with those purchased then eligible for the 2026 auction which will carry first prize money of $150,000, $30,000 for second, $15,000 for third while unplaced runners will receive $3000 each.

Goodwin said he had been happy with the response to his three lots which had all handled the long trip really well.

“The unraced Princess Kiwi is a daughter of Barcia Bale and Pearl’s Legacy. The two pups I took up are out of her fourth litter and attracted quite a bit of interest due to her second litter which is by Fernando Bale.

“Among that litter is a Group-winning black dog that goes around as Ferness and has now won 14 races and $175,000 in prize money.

“And Hooroo Tears, by Fernando Bale x Tears Siam, is a litter sister to Play Nine, a winner of $137,000 in prize money, Dirt Farmer $131,000 and On The Off $128,000.”

All told, the Princess Kiwi pair sold for $12,000 and $9,000 respectively while the Hooroo Tears youngster brought $6000.

But Goodwin didn’t return empty-handed after purchasing a pup by Whiskey Riot out of Federal Light – a winner of 10 races and $49,700 in prize money – for $2500.

“There’s a bit of winning form around this pup given her dam’s sister, Federal Infrared, won 55 races and $400,000 in prize money,” he said.

Meanwhile, GRNSW Chief Executive Officer Steve Griffin said the auction had been very well attended and the high-end pups reached high-end prices. He said the pleasing thing was that there had been pups available for all budgets.

“And that’s exactly what we had wanted because we’re looking to entice new people into our industry.”

Later in the week it was across to South Australia and Mount Gambier’s time-graded meeting with Ferness’s litter sister Kiwi To Burn for the Da’Leni Meats TG5+W Stake (400 m).

Chasing her first win this year, Kiwi To Burn matched motors with Kerry’s Cadillac for much of the journey before finishing the stronger for a 1¼ length win in 23.33 seconds.

Then, bringing up the end of a long week for the Goodwin Kennels at Victoria’s The Meadows on the Saturday night was Lie To Me who failed to run a place over 525 metres on the back of a 400 metre win at Mount Gambier at his previous start.