Victa Grosso Takes Out The Gawler Gold Cup
On Sunday Night we saw the highlight of the Gawler greyhound racing calender with the running of the Gawler Gold cup. The Nixon’s Function Centre was packed and there was a good crowd on course overall for the massive night of racing. The highlight of the night was the Gawler Gold Cup Final which was race eight on the program. Came And Went jumped favourite for trainer Troy Murray who was drawn in box one. Troy was looking to take out back-to-back cups after winning last year with Major Major and he was also looking to win the race for seventh time. Bosko Stamenkovic also had a strong presence in the race with his two kennel starts Rosie Red and Fire Strike both making the final.
Tony and Lisa Rasmussen had three runners in the final and all three of them were seen as big chances to win the final. Victa Hadyn for Tony Rasmussen was the fastest heat winner and was shooting for a $9,000 bonus after winning the Gawler Produce final earlier in the year. Instead it was the litter mate Victa Grosso getting up to win the Gold Cup Final. Victa Grosso had a perfect preparation leading up to the final. He set a new personal best time two starts back when he run 30.66 over the 531 meters on the 13th of October. He was a strong winner in his heat defeating Rosie Red and running a time of 30.76. The lead up meant he was perfectly prepared to win the final on Sunday Night and that’s exactly what he did. He didn’t lead initially but he weaved a passage through the field to run over the top and run a time of 30.90. Rosie Red ran second for the Stamenkovic kennel and was quite impressive. Victa Hadyn wasn’t too far away running third for Tony Rasmussen. This was Tony’s second Gawler Cup win after he took out the prestigious race in 2018 with his start chaser Honcho Monelli.
We also saw the running of the 2021 Gawler Sprint Classic Final over the 400 meters. The final appeared to be very even and there was plenty of young talent in the race. Zipping Walter was the winner for trainer Ben Rawlings. He began perfectly from box number four and carved down to the rail to lead all of the way. He ran a time of 22.79 in the process. Talented chaser Patched ran second for Nicole Price and race favourite She’s A Hotshot ran third for Troy Murray. Zipping Walter is owned by the Beach Worm Capital syndicate. The large syndicate went out onto the track after the race to take a winning photo and every owner were visibly happy after the race. Ben Rawlings also took out the Gawler Carnival Of Cup trainers award for the night which saw his kennel take home a $500 voucher courtesy of Gawler Stock Feeds.
Veteran chaser Aston Cade took out the Gawler Gold Cup Consolation for Matthew Payne which was the other feature race on the night. Overall, the night was successful for the club and the Gawler Carnival Of Cups has been a very successful event in its inaugural year.
Photo: Victa Grosso takes top spot on the podium as winner of the Gold Cup for Tony Rasmussen
Credit: Kurt Donsberg Photography