FORTNIGHTLY time-graded race meetings, introduced for lower-grade greyhounds in order they may continue to gain starts against opposition of a similar standard while also collecting guaranteed prize money, are proving pretty popular at Tara Raceway.
These are the Friday meetings that carry similar total prize money as normal race meetings, but with the distribution differing so that all runners receive prize money from $400 down to $70 each for the last four to finish.
So, for example, if a trainer has one dog engaged that runs fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth then he or she will not only pick up a $60 trainer’s rebate but also $70 unplaced prize money.
Even more, of course, if that runner happens to finish in the top four.
And for the trainer with a trailer-load, the $60 rebate is still there, while the total pay day could be anything up to $1000 – and that is without a winner.
Even better, the races are non-penalty, which means that many of the greyhounds can come back and do it all again a couple of weeks later – in the same grade.
Little wonder many – although, it must be said, certainly not greyhound racing die-hards from an era now long gone – are referring to the time-graded meetings as the happy days of greyhound racing.
Every player wins a prize, if you like.
While these meetings are unlikely to unearth too many future Group 1 winners, they do from time to time come up with a feel-good story, as was the case at Tara Raceway last Friday with the Jenner family and their greyhound Elgrande Rebel.
Nathan and Kerry Jenner had run third with Elgrande Rebel at Tara Raceway back in October and after following up with thirds at Bendigo and Ballarat decided to make the 300km trip from Landsborough, situated at the foot of the Pyrenees Ranges in western Victoria, back to Mount Gambier.
Lining up from box one in the 400-metres Greg Martlew Autos Stake, the daughter of El Grand Senor and La Shi Ra was pretty short at $1.75, especially considering she had been a $31 chance at her last start from box one over 390 metres.
But Elgrande Rebel – another one raced by the Chasing Gold Greyhound Syndicate – won like an odds-on favourite should, leading all the way to defeat Garnet by three lengths in 24.24 seconds and bringing up her first win in 11 starts.
For Kerry Jenner, involved in the sport virtually all her life, it was her first winner at Tara Raceway and her third this year for Chasing Gold after Chabbay Laray had previously won two races over 390 metres at Ballarat.
Meanwhile, hanging over the finish line fence and fervently cheering on Elgrande Rebel to victory were the Jenner kids – Marcos (13), Zoe (9) and Ebony (4) – quickly onto the track afterwards to join an equally as excited Nathan and Kerry for a photograph with the winner.
For the Jenner family this was indeed a happy day at the greyhound track.
Jam Lady defies giant odds
MOUNT Gambier “backyard” trainer Amanda Darmanin generally works with giveaway greyhounds and more often than not manages to get a win or two out of them.
Mind you, Jam Lady, who went into last Friday’s 400-metre The Border Watch Stake with one win from 45 starts, was really starting to test her.
The daughter of Mepunga Geordie and Lady Lithgow, herself a winner at Tara Raceway in 2010, won her maiden at the local track at start number 19 in January this year for Penshurst trainer Brendan Casey.
But by August, a fed up Casey – who also won at Warrnambool and Horsham with Lady Lithgow – was able to convince Darmanin to have a crack with Jam Lady.
She was still trying to win a race some 15 starts later and with the white and black bitch lining up in box three last Friday at odds of $31 there really did not appear much chance of any sort of form reversal.
However, Jam Lady looked anything but the outsider of the grade six field when leading all the way, eventually defeating Jimbo Jet by five-and-a-half lengths in 23.89 seconds.
For Darmanin, it was her first win since Knick Knack, yet another Chasing Gold Syndication greyhound, was successful in August.
Taking a keen interest in Friday’s win was local Tara Raceway regular Steve Greathead, who, according to Darmanin, had been an integral part of Jam Lady’s success.
“Steve helped out with the dog when I was recently in hospital and I’m certainly very grateful for his efforts,” she said.
