Thursday, January 9, 2020
Edenhope chaser Black Spring, the 2019 Mount Gambier Greyhound of the Year, heads the qualifiers for Sunday’s Tara Trackstar No. 2 at Tara Raceway.
This Trackstar, a one-off race over 512 metres, is for the best performed greyhounds at the track between July and December, scoring done on a 4, 2, 1 points basis with the Cap Abbott owned and trained Black Spring accumulating 36 points in the second half of the year.
Not surprisingly, Allendale East trainer David Peckham, the 2019 Ian Badger Leading Trainer with 128 winners, holds a strong hand in the Trackstar with Dyna Naitch 33, Silent Jacko 32, Squishy Pea 30 and Usain Insane 27.
Also in Sunday’s final are Robert Halliday’s Rotate 27, along with Nicole Stanley’s Close Your Eyes 26 and David Brodhurst’s Danyo’s Cally, also with 26 points.
The inaugural Tara Trackstar, for the best performed greyhounds at Tara Raceway between January and June 2019, was run in early July and won by the Peckham trained Flash Jackie who defeated Brodhurst’s Dare To Do and Abbott’s Bab’s Jakit in a time of 30.04 seconds.
Sunday’s meeting is packed full of interest, Dyna Carnie, fresh from a 400 metre track record last week, clashing with the speedy Cryer’s Harper – a half-sister to the former record holder – in the O’Brien Electrical Open Stake.
The Fairthorne Forestry Juvenile (400 m) looks to be a beauty with the Tracie Price trained Tandiki, a litter sister to Burn Time who won on debut over 525 metres at The Meadows on Wednesday, taking on the Dean Fennell trained pair General Max and Perseverance.
Killarney trainer Kevin Mugavin is launching a three-pronged attack on Tara Raceway with Cloona Reward, Spring Value and Nitro Value.
With quick times over the short courses at Ballarat and Warrnambool at his past four starts, Cloona Reward, a son of Spring Gun x Magic Matese, should be hard to beat from box one in the Trackside Meats Stake (400 m).
Litter brother Spring Value, a 29.56 seconds McDonnell Memorial heat winner at Tara Raceway last November before going on to win the final the following week, looks well placed in box seven in the Produce Store Stake (512 m).
And half-brother Nitro Value, who has been running quick times without winning at Ballarat and Warrnambool, should be more than competitive in the Klaassens Contractors Stake (512 m), the son of Nitro Burst a sound chance to win his first race since last October.
With five seconds from five starts at Tara Raceway surely the Nicole Stanley trained Oscar The Scout is ready for a win – Sunday’s South Eastern Hotel Stake (512 m) looking a good race for the fawn dog with a personal best time of 29.93 seconds at the track.
By Moreira out of Someday Lady, Oscar The Scout is a litter brother to the smart Victorian chaser Waging War, a winner of 10 races and $65,000 in stakemoney.
Also originally planned to be run at Sunday’s meeting were heats of the Sims Family Memorial Maiden over 512 metres. However, due to insufficient nominations a one-off final will now be run on Sunday, January 19.
In keeping with the current Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club’s heats and final policy of running a minimum of two heats, nominations will now close on Tuesday for a one-off final.
This means greyhounds originally nominated for the heats will receive preference if re-nominated. However, it also means that the winner of this Sunday’s Winmore Greyhound Kennels Maiden Stake (512 m) will be ineligible for the Sims Family Memorial on Sunday week.
And, “The Dogs” has finally come up with an alternative to its bulky two-page per race program, releasing a one-page per race format this week.
Perhaps not quite as comprehensive, however certainly more than adequate, especially for the “sight-impaired” punter who will appreciate the larger type style.
Listing the greyhound’s past three starts, all the essentials are there – owners, trainer (including his or her location which is always handy), breeding and age of the dog, career record and record at Tara Raceway.