Out of the flames
Several areas of the State suffered from severe bushfires last summer, and a greyhound named after one of those fires won at Gawler greyhounds on Tuesday.
In the Macro Meats Juvenile Stake over 400m, box 1 runner Chelsea Bird flew the start to lead Bangor Blaze (4) and Max Tyson (7). Down the back straight and Bangor Blaze was able to get on level terms with Chelsea Bird, but Max Tyson copped some interference and quickly dropped out of the picture. Bangor Blaze gained the upper hand and took the lead approaching the back turn and went on to win by 2 ¾ lengths in a good time of 22.76 secs.
Second in the race was Chelsea Bird trained by Karen Bearpark, and Mcray was third for Troy Murray, both of Two Wells.
Bangor Blaze is owned and trained by Ray Burgess at Napperby in the Southern Flinders area. Napperby was under threat from a fire on many days in a two week period, and as Ray was ready to name a pup at that stage, he thought it was fitting to have something positive come from it. So the pup was named Bangor Blaze, the name that the bushfire had taken.
It has certainly been a positive, as Bangor Blaze with just 7 starts, has now recorded 3 wins and 2 places. Ray who has only a small team in work, has produced some handy runners at the track and is often not too far away from the major money.
Another trainer who also gets consistent results is Troy Murray, who was the only trainer to score a double at the meeting. Kalden Playboy went from the back of the field to win the 643m event, while Boonoona Boy came from midfield to score over the 531m journey.
With the new facility taking shape, racing continues every Tuesday afternoon and Sunday twilight. On Thursday 9th October, there will be a night meeting, probably the only occasion that the Club has ever raced in this time slot. See you at the track.