David Lewis
IT is now just over 12 months ago since Compton trainer Tracie Price fronted at a Tara Raceway time-graded meeting with a greyhound called Giant’s Flash.
At the time the four-race winner’s past few starts had included as many satisfactory trials as actual race starts.
However, on that Thursday afternoon Giant’s Flash scored a 14-length win over 512 metres in a track-record 29.19 seconds.
The rest is now history.
Later, a Tara Raceway track record over 600 metres was added to the resume along with a further 21 wins.
Fast forward a year and former Victorian greyhound Hooked On Love was having his first start for Price at Thursday’s time-graded meeting in the Gordon Refrigeration 512-metre 1-4 wins one-off Fast Forward final.
While there were no satisfactory trials in his past few runs there were no placings either.
In fact, Hooked On Love’s only win had come in a steady 24.35 seconds back in October at Bendigo over 425 metres.
Yet on Thursday the white and black dog was in front going out of the first turn.
With the Jason Newman trained Not So Expensive doing the chasing it soon developed into a two-dog race.
Hooked On Love never looked like being run down and actually had 4¼ lengths to spare on the line.
Not surprising considering he had just run a time of 29.46 seconds – pretty well unheard of at Thursday meetings.
Price, who had won the Summer Classic the previous Sunday with Honey Rocks, probably could have been excused for wondering just how the $10,000 age-restricted series may have played out had Hooked On Love taken his place in a heat.
“When he came into the kennels last month I believed he needed more weight on him,” Price said.
“As a result he was a late scratching for weight variation from a Summer Classic heat.
“I make no apologies for the increase in weight because as he showed today he certainly raced pretty well at 31.4 kilograms after previously weighing in at 29.6 kilograms in Victoria.
“I reckon he’s as good as any dog I’ve had for a while and he might even run a strong 600 metres.”
Newman, on the other hand, is probably still wondering how Not So Expensive – who finished seventh in the Summer Classic final – could run 29.75 seconds at a time-graded meeting and be beaten by 4¼ lengths.
By Hooked On Scotch out of Love Made Me – a winner of 18 races at Angle Park, Gawler and Murray Bridge – Hooked On Love is raced by father and son team Craig and Tanner Ahl in partnership with Matt Trzeciak.
Speaking from Adelaide on Thursday after Hooked On Love had run the fastest 512-metre time at Tara Raceway this year, 28-year-old Tanner said the dog had been a recent purchase from Victoria.
“To be honest, he hadn’t been showing a lot so we sent him to Dave Knocker at Pearcedale for a short stint of re-education before transferring him to Tracie who is currently rearing some of our 25 dogs,” he said.
“Apparently he had been trialling alright at the Mount Gambier track without setting the world on fire so he really found plenty today.”
Involved in the sport for the past five years, Tanner rates Barbados Express, who won 16 races and close to $60,000 in prize money, as one of the better dogs he has been involved with.
By Fernando Bale out of Sweet Barbados, she is a litter sister to Nero Valentino who continues to race well at Mount Gambier.
However, for Tanner Ahl and his partners Thursday was not yet over.
“Recently we had also purchased Brutal Power following a maiden win at The Meadows,” he said.
“Four hours after Hooked On Love’s win at Mount Gambier his litter brother was racing over 400 metres at Warragul for Pearcedale trainer Kayla Cottrell.
“That really topped off our day when Brutal Power overcame a slow start from box eight before blowing them away for an 8¼ length win in 22.12 seconds.
“Not bad considering the track record is 21.99 seconds.”
