Craggy Island at his best in record run
Track records certainly have been a common theme recently in South Australia, and on Monday night we saw another one fall, with Craggy Island lowering the 342m time standard at Angle Park. Lining up in a strong grade 3/4/5, he ran a ripping 19.14, which surpassed a previous best time of 19.18 set by Weblec Whirl earlier this year. Craggy Island has been a fast dog for a long time, which included a stack of early promise when he first started racing, however a few injury concerns have prevented us from seeing the best of him. That all appears to be past him, given the brilliance of his effort on Monday night. His owner and trainer Ray Fewings is currently in Ireland, with Lauren Harris taking the chaser until he returns. Lauren had only had Craggy Island in her care for a few days before the run on Monday, with Ray asking her to take a couple of dogs before he left.
Photo: Craggy Island at the peak of his stride, getting over the line for a record time
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography
“We were at trials last monday and Ray came up to us and asked if we would like to take him and Cherries On Fire while he was overseas. He dropped them off on Wednesday so I hadn’t had them for very long, but both came in tip top condition, all I've done is feed them and take them to the track!” said Lauren
Quite clearly Craggy Island had settled in well to her kennel, with the short turnaround from entering to the kennel to racing, posing no issues for the fawn chaser.
“He’s a lovely boy, good kennel dog, exactly what you want with a good one.
“They were both ready to go so I just nominated them instead of trialing and I am glad I did!”
This is the second track record that Craggy Island has broken, as he smashed the Murray Bridge 395m recond on the 24th of May last year. Whilst his injuries have gotten in the way of consistent racing, it is fantastic for him to show that he is still capable.
“He has to wear hocktapes so he’s had an issue there at some stage, and as a young one he had a tear in the back muscle.”
Lauren Harris is no stranger to a track record, with a previous chaser of hers, Danyo's Wylie, holding the record over the old sprint trip. Lauren didn’t know that Craggy Island had broken the record until ontrack photographer Kurt Donsburg told her.
“Obviously it was super but I didn’t really notice until Kurt came up to me and said that he’s just run the record and I just said wow!”
The next challenge for Craggy Island will likely be this Sunday night at Murray Bridge.
“I might take him to the Bridge on Sunday over the short and then depending on when Ray comes back, I will target the Straight Track Cup because he goes well there too.”
Photo: Craggy Island, Daryl Gaspari and Lauren Harris proud as punch to get onto the leaderboard
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography