Mount Gambier Week In Review
Club to celebrate long-running feature event
This year will mark the 38th running of the time-honoured Newman McDonnell Memorial. Heats will be conducted over 512 metres for grade five greyhounds on Sunday, November 5 with the final a week later.
Newman McDonnell, one of the inaugural committee members of the South Eastern Greyhound Racing Club, was also president of the club when greyhound racing commenced at the Glenburnie track seven years later in 1979. He died on November 15, 1985 at the age of 81.
Kenzel Lad won the first memorial 12 months later. Subsequent memorial winners at the original greyhound track situated at the race course were Bozie Flyer, Irkanda Leo, Invercoe Riot, National Ribbon, Foxtrot Oscar, Bush Pepper, Larradinya, Wild Welcome, Colin Ian and Ashanti Gem.
Camo’s Lucky, trained at Penshurst by John Cameron, won the 2012 McDonnell Memorial – the first to be run at a TAB meeting. By then racing was well and truly entrenched at Lake Terrace East and being conducted by the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club.
And Allendale East trainer David Peckham’s Bourne Again is still the only greyhound to have won consecutive memorials in 2013 and 2014.
Winners to follow since then have been Boris Bekim (Brian Fish), Glenville Jester (Richard Clayfield), Lektra Stomp (Brian Lenehan), Banjo Lass (Tracie Price), Spring Value (Kevin Mugavin), Midnight Daisy (David Peckham), Crush Your Enemy (Tim Richards) and Classic Moment (Kevin Mugavin).
Race record holder is Lektra Stomp with a time of 29.69 seconds. He is also a former track record holder.
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Jack makes his presence felt
Two Wells trainer Jack Trengove has made only half a dozen or so trips down to Tara Raceway this year but he certainly made his presence felt at last Thursday’s time-grade meeting when training a treble – Dutch Rambo, Love My Key and Subzero Annie.
Dutch Rambo, still chasing his first win at start number 14, made a one-act affair of the Metal Worx Maiden Stake (305 metres) when leading all the way and defeating Gregor The Brute by 8¾ lengths in a time of 18 seconds.
By Barcia Bale, the black dog is out of Dutch Audrey, a US-bred daughter of Superior Panama and Dutch Hilary.
“He’s certainly well bred,” Trengove said. “But trainer Matt Lanigan contacted me to see if I would be interested in training the unraced dog because he just wasn’t up to scratch in Victoria.
“He’d run six placings since for me but I was finding that he was getting a bit tired over the shorter courses in Adelaide and Broken Hill so I decided to bring him down here for a race over 305 metres.”
Love My Key, owned in Adelaide by Darrell Johnstone of Brett Lee fame, was looking for his first win since last successful at Mount Gambier at the end of June.
As it turned out, the son of US sire Kiowa Mon Manny and Key Nuclear never looked in any danger of defeat when leading all the way from box two in the Gambier VetsTG5+W Stake (512 m).
In what was an impressive performance, Love My Key had six lengths to spare on the line over Sir Patrick in a best of day time of 29.96 seconds.
And bringing up the treble for her sixth trainer was Subzero Annie who led all the way in the Rocks Tavern TG5+W Stake (400 m) for a half-length win over Beauty Bubbles in 23.40 seconds.
The white and brindle bitch is a daughter of Fernando Bale and the unraced Subzero Doll who traces back to Tenthill Flyer, the dam of the legendary Flying Amy.
Meanwhile, Portland trainer Robert Halliday brought up his third Tara Raceway double this year when litter brothers Wangler and Yadillah Lad were successful in the Progreyhoundtips.com TG1-4W Stake (400 m) and the Greg Martlew Autos TG1-4W Stake (400 m).
By Bernardo out of Spirited Bingle, Wangler (if you’re wondering about the name, the story goes that Halliday inadvertently left the “r” out) made it two wins on the trot when leading all the way for a 6¾ length win over Mocambora Mia in 23.51 seconds.
Then, in the following race, Yadillah Lad took the lead down the back before hanging on for a half-length win over Acoustic Flash in a personal best time of 23.20 seconds.
Halliday’s previous doubles this year had come on March 9 with Yadillah Son and Compton Robbie and on April 9 with Yadillah Lad and Compton Robbie.
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A long time between drinks for Coonawarra vineyard manager
Coonawarra vineyard manager Stuey Sharam has spent most of his Sundays this year at Tara Raceway where he’s been handling greyhounds for Tracie Price as a prerequisite to obtaining his own trainer’s licence.
Recently he received his licence and promptly fired in a nomination for Donny Rocks – formerly trained by Price – who then drew box eight in the Carlin & Gazzard Stake (400 metres) on Sunday, October 22.
And this was a real family affair. Also on track were Sharam’s wife Pat, a registered participant, and their son Liam who previously had made it quite clear that he would like to see Donny Rocks in his father’s newly-built kennels.
“We’ve spent quite a bit of time with Tracie this year and Liam had taken a real shine to Donny Rocks,” Sharam said. “So when Tracie mentioned this to the owner Ron Murch he generously signed over the dog to us.”
Sharam was chasing his first winner as a trainer since March 31, 1997 – a time when the Lake Terrace East track was still well and truly in its infancy.
Lightning Sal and Racin’ Razzy actually gave him a double that day when successful in heats of the Bookmakers Cup (512 m) in times of 31.06 seconds and 30.81 seconds respectively.
Soon after, though, he hung up the collar and lead – family and employment in the Coonawarra taking priority. Although in more recent times it’s probably fair to say that the occasional visit to Tara Raceway had rekindled the interest to some extent in greyhound racing.
“Things had certainly changed here since 1997,” Sharam said. “Free entry, trainers’ appearance money, no nomination fees and even free race books. And add to this racing twice a week plus a considerable boost in prize money.”
For the record, back in 1997 at Tara Raceway, maiden winners received $100, grade 5 $110 and open $130. And the race book cost $2!
Now, returning to Donny Rocks. The son of Fernando Bale and Rhonda Rocks was always on the pace before taking up the running down the back. And on the line he had two lengths to spare over his former kennelmate Compton Yap in a time of 23.07 seconds.
And prize money has risen a bit in 26 years. Donny Rocks collected $1395 for the open class win.
Young Liam Sharam stood in his customary viewing spot – on the fence, not all that far past the finish line. From that vantage point he’d watched his father, and his mother for that matter, lead back plenty of winners over the past few months.
But none of those had been a patch on Donny Rocks’ win.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, local owner Willie Vossen – a former trainer and Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club committee member – landed his first winner in more than two years when Mr. Tandiki led all the way in the Rocks Tavern Maiden Stake (400 m).
By Aussie Infrared, the white and black dog is out of Tandiki, who won 18 races for Vossen and partners Tracie and Karen Price and Michael Robinson. And Tandiki had been Vossen’s last winner on July 18, 2021 when successful over 512 metres at Tara Raceway.