September  2024 | Apilla

Greyhound of the Month for September was Apilla for trainer Damien Smith, who had three starts for the month for two wins and one placing, with the highlight being a brilliant second in the Group 3 SA Oaks at Angle Park on Thursday, 19th September.

The daughter of My Redeemer and Rosie Red started the month off with a win at Mount Gambier in Grade 6 company before returning to headquarters for the SA Oak series. In one of our Age Restricted Classics she raced extremely well to claim a Heat win against hot opposition running a flying 30.39 for the 530m journey.

In the prestigious Group 3 SA Oaks Final, without much luck early, Apilla sprouted wings late in the event but ran out of race track to just fail to claim the leader by less than a length that had many good judges looking forward to her step up in distance. At the end of the month Apilla’s record stood at 14 starts for 4 wins and 7 placings and earnings just over $20,000.

August 2024 | Chapel Road 

Greyhound of the Month for August was Chapel Road for trainer Kiah Hurley, who had three starts for the month for one win and one placing with the highlight being victory in the State Final of the National Sprint Series at Angle Park on Thursday, 8th August.

The son of Bernando and Sunset Senorita just edged out Cash On Delivery for Cameron Forshaw to take out the monthly award.  Chapel Road started the month of with an unlucky third in the State Heats of the National Sprint, however, in the Final he showed terrific acceleration to lead from an inside box and from there was never headed over the 530m journey running a slick 30.49 in winning by just over 2 lengths. That win also booked his spot in the Group 1 National Sprint Final at Angle Park on Saturday, 24th August, in a super hot field he ran a handy seventh without much luck.

At the end of the month Chapel Road’s record stood at 50 starts for 11 wins and 24 placings and earnings just over $100,000.

July 2024 | Zinfandel Trace

Greyhound of the Month for July was Zinfandel Trace for trainer Gavin Harris, who had three starts for the month for two wins and a second with the highlight being victory in the prestigious Champion Puppy final at Angle Park on Thursday, 18th July.

The daughter of Barcia Bale and Zinfandel Zara started the month of with a strong second in the heats of the Champion Puppy before starting one of the favourites for the feature final. She proved her class in the feature final winning by 2 lengths in a slick 30.51. Zinfandel Trace rounded the month off with a brilliant win at headquarters in Juvenile company winning by 2.50 lengths in 30.46 over the 530m.

At the end of the month Zinfandel Trace’s record stood at 9 starts for 6 wins and 3 placings and earnings around $36,000.

June 2024 | Cash On Delivery

Greyhound of the Month for June was Cash On Delivery for trainer Cameron Forshaw, who had three starts for the month for two wins and a second with the highlight being victory in the $75,000 to the winner Thunderbolt Final at Grafton in New South Wales.

The son of Zambora Brockie and Shilo was on the back of a huge winning streak when the team took Cash On Delivery to Grafton for the qualifying Final of the Thunderbolt over the 350m. Chasing his 13th win in a row he won impressively qualifying for the Feature Heats the week later.  Against the best short course sprinters available, Cash On Delivery had no luck in the Heats, however, was still good enough to run second and make the feature Thunderbolt Final. Starting one of the favourites he surprisingly missed the start from box 3, however, on this occasion he got the luck and pushed through to lead rounding the home turn. From there Cash On Delivery was in no danger going on to win by 2.25 lengths in 20.09 and in doing so provided one of the biggest wins for his trainer and connections.

At the end of the month Cash On Delivery’s record stood at 54 starts for 35 wins and 14 placings and earnings around $135,000.

May 2024 | Yoda Lady

Greyhound of the Month for May was Yoda Lady for trainer Lauren Harris, who was undefeated in May winning all three of her starts, with the highlight being victory in the Group 3 Howard Ashton Final towards the end of the month.

The daughter of Blazin Wildfire and Galactic Athena was a recent addition to the Harris kennel after being sent up from the South East from owners Steve and Lee Bartholomew. Yoda Lady started the month off in the Heats of the Howard Ashton and quickly stamped herself as one of the favourites for the series with a dominant Heat win, winning by 3 lengths in 30.60 over the 530m journey. She repeated the dose in the Semi-Final running even faster, a slick 30.59 in winning by 2 lengths.  She stepped out in the Final chasing her sixth win in a row and after having to chase hard during the middle stages, her class prevailed with an over the top victory. She won by 1½ lengths in a solid 30.85 and showed plenty of determination to get to the line first in the prestigious event.

At the end of the month Yoda Lady’s record stood at 19 starts for 9 wins and 8 placings and earnings around $42,000.

April 2024 | Chapel Road 

Greyhound of the Month for April was Chapel Road for trainer Kiah Hurley, who had two starts for the month and was undefeated winning both events, with the highlight being victory in the Group 3 Mount Gambier Cup Final in the middle of the month.

The son of Bernardo and Sunset Senorita started the month off in the Heats of the Mount Gambier Cup. After a torrid run outside the leader, he strode to the lead turning for home to run away with a stirring victory by 3 lengths in  30.10. As he lined up for the Group 3 Final, and as the start was affected, Chapel Road began well from box 1 to push through and lead on the first turn. He ran terrific sectionals  out in the lead and whilst the hot field of chasers tried to bridge the gap, Chapel Road dominated from the front to  go on and win by 2 lengths in a blistering 29.56 for the 512m  journey. At the end of the month Chapel Road’s record stood at 41 starts for 9 wins and 20 placings and earnings around $78,000. 

March 2024 | Adhana Rico

Greyhound of the Month for March was Adhana Rico for trainer Cameron Forshaw, who had three starts for the month with two wins and a third, his highlight being victory in the Group 3 Murray Bridge Cup Final in the middle of the month.

The son of Fernando Bale and Bella Rico started the month off with a strong win in the Heats of the Murray Bridge Cup winning by 3 lengths in a handy 25.51. He then stepped out in the Final as the favourite, however, had to overcome box 5. He did this with ease, beginning brilliantly and leading in the initial stages. From there he was never headed running brilliant time in the lead and going on to win by 1 length in a slick 25.22.

His next assignment was the Eastar Match Race series where he started a raging hot favourite. He was drawn in the last match with a time of 30.34 to beat, he ran well, however, his time of 30.51 placed him 3rd in the feature head to head series. At the end of the month Adhana Rico’s record stood at 71 starts for 27 wins and 24 placings and earnings around $205,000.

February 2024 | Peaky Boo

Greyhound of the Month for February was Peaky Boo for trainer Ben Rawlings, who had four starts for the month with three wins and a third, his highlight being the SA Final of the Launching Pad series and booking his spot across the border at Sandown in the rich Group 2 series.

The son of Tommy Shelby and West On Poppy started the month off in blistering fashion, winning his Heat of the time honoured SA St Leger in a flying 30.41, and then ran a handy third in the Final without having much luck as a short priced favourite. He then stepped out in the Heats of the SA Launching Pad creating a huge impression in winning by almost 10 lengths in a brilliant 30.29 for the 530m journey. As a very short priced favourite in the Final he was made to work hard for the win but found the line in first place , winning by a length in 30.82 and booking his spot in Victoria.

At the end of the month Peaky Boo’s record stood at 9 starts for 5 wins and 1 placings and earnings around $15,000.

January 2024 | Fiorano

Greyhound of the Month for January was Fiorano for trainer Ashlee Griffiths, who had two starts for the month with one win and one second, his highlight being the listed SA Sprint Championship Final. It was a tight month of voting, with Fiorano just edging out kennel mate Adhana Rico and the Ron Schadow trained Victa Marli.

The son of Black Magic Opal and Zipping Sassy started the month off with a solid second in the Heats of the SA Sprint before stepping out in the Final as one of the favourites. He was able to jump to the front early in the listed feature and ran brilliant time in the lead to stave off all challengers and win by a neck in 30.41 for the 530m journey.

At the end of the month Fiorano’s record stood at 38 starts for 15 wins and 7 placings and earnings around $67,000.

  1. Current Members of the 2023 SA Greyhound of the Year (GOTY) Judging Panel are Todd Gray, Grant Stewart,  Josh Evans, Matthew Herrmann, Shaun Mathieson and Greg Barber.

  2. After each calendar month of racing, each panellist will be asked to vote for the SA Greyhound of the Month (GOTM) by nominating a 1st choice (4 votes), 2nd choice (2 votes) and 3rd choice (1 vote). The GOTM is to be SA Trained.
     
  3. Votes are tallied and a GOTM winner is announced. In the case of one or more greyhounds having the equal highest number of votes, they will be named equal winners for that month.
     
  4. All GOTM winners, including equal winners, will be considered when the GOTY Judging Panel selects the finalists for the GOTY. The panel may consider other greyhounds that may not have won a GOTM for the GOTY finalists. To be eligible for GOTY, a finalist must have been domiciled and trained in South Australia in the year of the award for a period of not less than 120 days.

  5. When casting votes for the GOTY, the panel is to pay particular attention to all South Australian race starts, but also take into account achievements out of the state in that year.

  6. The race records and achievements for the year of all GOTM winners and relevant other greyhounds will be sent to each member of the Judging Panel prior to the selection of GOTY Finalists. Panel members may request greyhounds to be included in the list for consideration.

  7. A meeting shall be convened of the GOTY Judging Panel at which the panel will be asked to select five finalists to be included for voting purposes to establish the GOTY. This meeting will also select Finalists for the SA Distance GOTY, SA Sprint GOTY and SA Bred GOTY.

  8. The names of the selected finalists and voting slips and envelopes will be sent to each member of the Judging Panel.

  9. Members of the Judging Panel will be asked to cast their votes by nominating a 1st choice (5 points), 2nd choice (4 points), 3rd choice (3 points), 4th choice (2 points) and 5th choice (1 point) and place the voting slip in the envelope provided and return.

  10. Once all votes have been received, the CEO of Greyhound Racing SA, Racing Manager and Integrity Manager will open the sealed envelopes and tally the votes (1st choice = 5 points, 2nd choice = 4 points, 3rd choice = 3 points, 4th choice = 2 points and 5th choice = 1 point).

  11. The greyhound with the highest number of points will be named GOTY. In the case of one or more greyhounds having the equal highest number of votes, they will be named equal winners.

  12. The GOTY winners’ name/s will be announced at a function on a date and at a venue to be determined by Greyhound Racing SA.