By David Lewis
LEADING local trainer, Compton’s Tracie Price, will hope his well-performed greyhound Wild Banker can add to his already impressive record this year when he takes on next month’s Exchange Printers Anniversary Cup over 512 metres at Tara Raceway.
Raced by Tony Longe, the son of Need My Moneynow and Wild Marilyn won the $10,000 Summer Classic (512m) at Tara Raceway in January and the Murray Bridge Straight Track Cup (350m) in May.
At Murray Bridge’s June 18 meeting, Wild Banker was once again successful up the straight prior to returning to Mount Gambier last Sunday for the Da’Leni Meats Mixed Stake (512m).
Away well from box one and chasing his 10th win this year, the black dog went straight to the front and opened up a handy break over kennelmate Honey Rocks before running out a 1¼ length winner in a best-of-day 29.72 seconds.
The Mount Gambier Anniversary Cup was first run out at Glenburnie in 1985 when won by Hazel Lane’s Kenzel Lad.
The first Anniversary Cup run at the Lake Terrace East venue was won by the Col Sims trained Becker McLaren in 1997 in a time of 30.28 seconds.
Price boasts an impressive record in the cup.
In 2020 he was successful with Spring Cuervo in 29.77 seconds.
He followed up in successive years with Tandiki (29.75 seconds) and Giant’s Flash who equalled his own track record when winning in 29.19 seconds.
Price said, all things going to plan, he was looking at returning to Murray Bridge in early August for the SA National Straight Track Championship over 350 metres.
“Heats will be run on August 6, with the $14,000 final a week later,” he said.
“Then the Group 3 National Grand Final, which carries prize money of $44,875, will be run at Murray Bridge on Saturday, August 24.”
Racing kicked off on Sunday with reserve runner Aston Mai Tai gaining a start and impressing with an all-the-way win over 305 metres in the Winning Post Supplies Maiden Stake in a time of 17.59 seconds.
By Fernando Bale out of Aston Mirage, the pint-sized brindle bitch is trained at Winslow by Jon Malone for Ray Borda.
Aston Mai Tai had previously been unplaced on three occasions at Warrnambool, but according to Dustin Drew, who was standing in for Malone, her size certainly does not do her too many favours.
“Given that she’s flat out tipping the scales at 23 kilograms, she does tend to find a bit of trouble in her races,” he said.
“But as she showed today when winning by 4¾ lengths, she can run a bit with a clear go.
“She has been with us right through.
“We also trained Aston Mirage who won 13 races and $31,000 in prize money and her litter sister Aston Silk won 16 races and more than $100,000 in prize money.”
As Tarpeena’s Malcolm Keenan tells it, it was only by necessity he ever became a greyhound trainer – after the trainers of his two dogs were looking to move them on and he could not find anyone else.
As it turned out, the pair collectively won a further 13 races at Mount Gambier and Murray Bridge while being trained by Keenan, who has now been hands-on since November 2022.
With both now retired, he had recently been looking for another greyhound to train and who better to contact than Toolong-based Phil Lenehan, who seems to make a habit of cluttering up the local greyhound club’s notice board with advertisements for greyhounds to sell or give away?
“I made contact with Phil and sure enough he had a white and black bitch by Fernando Bale out of Lektra Perry named Lektra Remi that he reckoned would suit my needs. ‘If you want her, you can have her’,” he said.
“She had won her maiden over at Warrnambool so it sounded like a good deal to me.
“Lektra Remi continued to race for Phil while I sorted my kennel situation out and she actually won another race for him prior to me picking her up.”
Keenan did not waste any time getting Lektra Remi up to Murray Bridge for the first two Tuesday straight-track meetings of June.
She duly won on both days, stepping up to 350 metres on the second occasion in order to take advantage of two grade-six races.
Last Sunday he stepped up Lektra Remi to 512 metres in a bid to pinch another grade six event.
Away well from box four in the Cadillac Racing Stake, she quickly found the front and was never headed when defeating Compton Wink by 2¼ lengths in 29.99 seconds.
“Finally, a good box dog,” Keenan said with a smile from ear to ear.
