Gawler Review
A pleasant summer evening brought out an excellent crowd to watch an interesting night of racing at Gawler.
Race 4 on the program was a 400m event for Grade 6 dogs, which saw Select Some(1) take the lead immediately they jumped, but that did not last very long, as Happy Harvey shot around the field from his box 8 draw. Happy Harvey went on with the run, stretching his lead to six lengths as he crossed the finish line. Big prediction made up ground after being at the tail of the field early in the race, to finish second for Ross Panagiotou of Evanston Gardens, and Lektra Midnight (5) was third for Nicole Price of Lewiston.
Happy Harvey’s owners, Robert and Colleen Barclay, were pretty happy after the race as well, as the brindle dog has had a very restricted career. After seeing an advertisement for the sale of Happy Harvey and a littermate, the two unraced dogs then aged two, were purchased from Victoria. Success followed for Happy Harvey when he was able to win at his first two starts, which were both at Gawler. Minor injuries prevented Harvey from another win during his next few starts, and the trainer, Tim Ieraci and his partner Liz Harley suggested that that a spell from racing, and a change of trainer was worth considering. As Tim and Liz had a number of their own pups ready to race, Robert and Colleen agreed, and engaged Mike Wittholz, who has trained for them before, to take over the training duties. After a four month break, Happy Harvey resumed at Gawler last Sunday, recording a third placing. That run set the scene for the further improvement this week.
Despite nearing his third birthday in March, Happy Harvey has only raced on just nine occasions, for a tally of three wins and three thirds. Running a time of 22.97 secs in winning last night, Happy Harvey has shown that he is capable of being competitive and can finally get to race more often.
Robert has had a long involvement of nearly 60 years in the industry, having been a trainer, and now as an owner. He and Colleen love the greyhounds, and they have three retirees, plus five pups nearing the education stage. Robert is optimistic about the future for the pups which are by top stud dog Fernando Bale from their racing female Gunnadoo Value, and which are being reared by Tim and Liz.
Racing continues every Wednesday afternoon and Sunday night, so why not come along to watch great racing. With the popularity of the Sunday night meals, please book with the Club on 8522-2935.
L to R; Colleen Barclay, Mike Wittholz, Robert Barclay with Happy Harvey
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography