A Regal Run - Gawler
On Sunday night at Gawler greyhounds two feature races were on the card, with the main event being the Classic Produce Series. This is a paid up Series for age restricted greyhounds, which requires an initial payment some 8 months before the event. Owners who nominate take a risk but with the winner of the Final taking home over $14000, it is a very attractive proposition.
When it came to the running of the Series, the numbers were down a little on previous years, but a top field for the Final was assembled. When the lids went up, Wingard from box 2 found the lead over Punishment (1) and Dakota Premier (4). Around the back turn, Regal Looper (3), which had settled down in fourth position, made up ground and positions on the leader. As they entered the home straight, Regal Looper went to the front and went on to win strongly by 3 lengths in the fast time of 30.69 secs. In a tight finish, the other runners all finished within 5 lengths of each other. Punishment held on to second place for most of the event for Carole Scott of Glandore, and the well fancied Sidney’s Shadow was third for Cameron Butcher of Meningie.
Regal Looper is also trained by Cameron in partnership with his wife Yvonne. Cameron has a very competitive racing team, with which he has enjoyed recent success at Gawler. Yvonne said she was a little surprised with Regal Looper’s win due to the quality of the field and the fact that he doesn’t always start well and subsequently can get back in the field. The fawn dog has the unusual kennel name of Rudder, as he was born with a bent tail. That doesn’t hold him back, as he has now won 13 races with 2 placings from just 17 starts.
The other feature event on the program was the Anniversary Cup, which was won in great style by all the way winner, Cairnlea Layla. The greyhound which featured in last week’s report, ran an excellent time of 30.37 secs, scored impressively by 8 lengths. Trained by Robyn Mackellar of Lewiston, the fawn bitch has developed a liking for the Gawler circuit, winning all 3 starts at the track in succession.
Racing continues on Tuesday afternoons, with the next Sunday twilight meeting being on 20th July.