FINDING THE RIGHT BEAT
Sometimes the hardest race for a greyhound to win is their first, but once they have achieved that win, they can sometimes get into the winning frame of mind. Such a greyhound won the Arclight Photography Stake over 643m at Gawler on Tuesday.
Burman’s Boots out of box 4 was away the best from Tait Bale (1) and Sky Kahn (7), but Burman’s Boots ran wide on the first turn, handing the early lead to Tait Bale. Down the back straight Tait Bale still led, holding a break of 3 lengths over Burman’s Boots, with Ducktail Jiver (2) a similar distance behind in third position. Coming around the home turn, the three runners drew level and it was anyone’s guess what would be the result. Ducktail Jiver however finished the best on the rails to win by nearly 2 lengths in a time of 38.20 secs.
Tait Bale put in a solid run to take second placing for Shaun Matcott of Murray Bridge and Sky Kahn was third for Kim Johnstone of Two Wells.
Ducktail Jiver is trained by Jan Jones at Eden Valley and raced in partnership with husband Tony. The blue dog has made it 2 wins in succession, after winning his first race in his 14th start the previous week over the same distance. Jan said that “Ridge” is slow early and there were not many maiden races available to suit him. Jan had felt some disbelief at his previous win as he didn’t seem to be getting anywhere and she knew he wasn’t a sprinter. However it is in the last 50 metres in a race that can make a big difference to Ridge’s performance.
Ridge is the last one to win in the Surf Lorian x Ask Any Dancer litter that Jan and Tony bred. Jan decided to keep the “dance” theme for the litter and for a bit of fun named Ridge “Ducktail Jiver,” after a never released Elton John song. It is the thrill of breeding, rearing and racing your own greyhounds that Jan considers is the ultimate achievement in the sport, and one of the reasons that they keep their involvement. Jan is hopeful now that Ducktail Jiver has broken through for 2 wins over 643m, he might be capable of running the longer distance of 731m at Angle Park
The only trainer for the day to score a double was Brenton Cleggett of Laura. Brenton was successful with Clint’s Jessie and the reserve runner Red Norm, with both jumping from box 1 to lead all the way.
Racing continues every Tuesday afternoon, with next Friday afternoon meeting being on October 4th and a Sunday twilight on the 13th.