David Lewis
COMPTON Robbie’s 29.74 second best-of-day win over 512 metres at Tara Raceway on Sunday now has his Portland owner-trainer Robert Halliday giving serious thought to the upcoming Michelle Niele Memorial Dual Distance Challenge.
He was slowly away from box four in the Commercial Hotel Mixed Stake, but the son of Glen Gallon and Lots Of Yap quickly rounded up the small field to finish strongly for a 3¾ length win over Nero Valentino and Compton Redeemer.
Michelle Niele, at 23 years of age, lost her battle with cystic fibrosis in November, 2019.
Together with her father Michael she had been a regular at Tara Raceway meetings over a number of years.
In fact, as a seven-year-old, she figures prominently in the 2003 Mount Gambier Cup presentation photograph with her father who won the race with Monstropolis.
He, along with the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club, had been keen to run a memorial race in Michelle’s memory.
Then in 2021 the inaugural Dual Distance Challenge was conducted over 512 metres with a 600-metre final.
The final was won by the Tracie Price trained Golly Gumdrops.
She went into the race with virtually no middle-distance form but with a pedigree to suggest she would run all day given her dam Psychotic Gold had won 18 races at Angle Park – all over 731 metres.
At Tara Raceway on Sunday, one of her sons in Mr. Spangles – by Mepunga Blazer – led all the way to win the Bartholomew Pick 6 Juvenile Stake over 305 metres and make it two wins from as many starts.
In 2022 Price once again looked to hold a strong hand in the Michelle Niele Memorial Dual Distance Challenge with Giant’s Flash, who was at the time the track record holder over both the 512 and 600 metre distances.
However, it was the Jason Newman trained Departure Gate – fresh from a win the month prior in the Mount Gambier Cup – who defied the opposition to run him down over 600 metres in a time of 34.92 seconds.
Speaking on Sunday after Compton Robbie’s seventh win, Halliday said he believed Compton Robbie would be well suited by the dual distance concept.
“I was really pleased with the way in which he finished off the race (on Sunday),” he said.
“While he’s yet to race over 600 metres he gives the impression that the extra ground shouldn’t be a problem.
“Aside from all that, the Niele family and I go back a long way and I have to say that as far as I am concerned, to win the Michelle Niele Memorial would most certainly be something special.”
Eaglehawk’s Peter Phillips, standing in for his wife Roselyn, was back at Tara Raceway on Sunday with Rebel, a recent 600-metre winner at Tara Raceway.
They are also looking at the memorial with the daughter of Mepunga Blazer and Gold Vein.
“Michael and I are well acquainted so hopefully we’ll be able to get back for the memorial,” Phillips said.
“There was no joy for Rebel (on Sunday) but as she showed when recently winning here she’s much better suited when drawing out wide.”
Wind Burn Flash’s nose win in 34.98 seconds over Moonlight Kiss, who attempted to lead all the way in the 600-metre Metal Worx Mixed Stake, has Newman now looking at consecutive memorials – this year’s to be run on May 21 and 28.
“I thought Wind Burn Flash handled herself pretty well after coming off a couple of Angle Park 730-metre runs,” he said.
“For sure, from a memorial point of view she looks our best chance although at this stage Velocity Lotus and Tanamera are also still in the mix.”
Meanwhile, Unique Pearl maintained his unbeaten Tara Raceway record when stringing together his seventh consecutive victory at the track in the Klaassens Contractors Open Stake over 400 metres.
Raced and trained locally by the Bartholomew family, the son of Elite State and Dusty Pearl has been beaten only twice – at Murray Bridge and Geelong when trained for six weeks by Matt Lanigan of Rowsley.
“Unfortunately he just didn’t settle when over with Matt but has been much better since returning,” said current trainer Elysia Bartholomew.
Unbeaten from box eight in three starts, Unique Pearl once again drew the outside and then led all the way in 22.91 seconds when defeating a top field on Sunday which included Nitrogen Outlaw and Mary Bridget.
Mary Bridget took ground off him in the run home and this prompted Bartholomew to suggest perhaps 400 metres might be as far as he wants to go.
“Time will tell whether he might be predominantly a short-courser,” she said.
“But what was pleasing today was the manner in which he handled himself when taking a considerable step up in grade.”
