What Did Week One Of The Golden Easter Egg Teach Us?

Leading into the semi-finals of the Golden , let’s look back at last week’s results and see what lessons can be learned and where tidbits of information can be taken out. There were, after all, 80 of Australia’s leading greyhounds on the one card, and as always the winners weren’t as predictable as many believed. So here are some of the more interesting observations that might prove handy to remember before attacking Saturday’s form guide;

Jagger Swagger is the real deal – Many would claim that Jagger Swagger was already a star of the track before his heat last week, but I personally had a couple of doubts whether the impressive from out of the age-restricted races would carry across to the Open Class. After his unsuccessful runs in Melbourne late last year, and starting from box eight, it seemed reasonable to take on the favourite in heat six, but boy, he charged past the field after a moderate beginning and made the opposition look second-rate. Hot Irish, a bitch that many would know was written about during the lead-up, was simply unable to get anywhere near the trained chaser, and those two pummelled the rest of the field. Regardless of how he goes from box two Saturday night, Jagger Swagger be winning plenty of races in the month to come.

Victorians now know the name Princess Black – There would have been many people in Victoria tuning into heat two of the Egg to see the fortunes of popular winner, Nitro Cee. However what was witnessed instead was a devastating win by the lightly raced Princess Black. With a perfect demonstration of how to overcome a middle draw, Princess Black ran dead straight from box six and cleared the field easily out in front. From there it was over, and multiple city winner, Imry Bale, along with Nitro Cee were powerless to stop her. Princess Black comes up against the abovementioned Jagger Swagger in the semi-final – a clash to get many a mouths watering.

Sometimes Speedy should never, ever, leave the Mackay kennel – Former South Aussie Sometimes Speedy has always been a handy chaser, but now under the care of Jason Mackay, this daughter of has become the pin-up girl of NSW racing. She has a Group win to her name, and could add the to her CV if her current form continues. To think this is the same greyhound that ran third and fourth in juveniles and Grade six races at Angle Park in October last year. Without taking anything away from her S.A connections, her improvement since coming to the East coast must suggest that her future will no longer lie in the City of Churches.

Race times are to be taken with a pinch of salt – Without doubt, one of the more agitating things about modern day racing is this tendency for clubs to doctor their tracks up beyond belief for the big races. Personally, I think it undermines any impressive times set and takes away the excitement of seeing a lightning run. Last Saturday night was another case, where eight of the ten heats were sub-29.75, when we would be lucky to see a run that fast once a month throughout the year. It not only brings an element of indifference to the spectator, but also becomes deceptive when lining up form once the feature series concludes. aren’t alone here either, and it would be unfair to single out this years’ Egg as having an over-prepared track. I can recall several meetings in other states where grade fives were pulling out free-for-all times on the night of a Cup meeting.

The Wheeler domination is easing – Remember a couple of years ago when the Wheeler dynasty filled seven of the eight final spots? Well it’s safe to say that the streak they were experiencing with their brigade has now eased, after they failed to claim a single heat of the Egg. Not for one second am I saying they have become unsuccessful, but the sheer dominance of the past 24 months has seemingly dissipated across the board.

Capable dogs from good draws should be respected – Time and time again dogs that are either out of form or facing a class rise come up and cause a boilover when drawn well. Nearly every greyhound punter I’ve ever come across recognises the tendency for inside runners to do well in big races, and yet sometimes they still go around at incredible value. Stetson Donna has always been the type of greyhound to be hit-or-miss, but drawn one in arguably the weakest heat of the night, she lands the prize and pays over $30 on some totes. A winner of over 12 metro races and $100K in career earnings, she certainly flew under the of many and never deserved to be those odds.

Early speed is worth its weight in gold – All night last Saturday, runners were unable to make up any more than two places throughout the run. Whether there were too many good dogs running ‘super’ times up front, or whether there was high amounts of interference is arguable, but either way, you had to be on the speed to give yourself a chance. This isn’t just an observation either, as official results tell us that not one heat winner came from any further back then second with a lap to go.

The was just confusing – Sometimes form lines from a Group 1 series just don’t stack up the next time around, and that was certainly the case from January’s series. With the exception of Cavendish Flyer and Ritza Ryder, all other finalists from the Paws final were engaged last Saturday and only Fully Advanced managed to repeat the dose. You would have done a lot of dough using the previous Group 1 on the track as your base.

Another Dollar Wins Christchurch Leg Of Jetpets Sister Cities Cup

The first heat for the Jet Pets Sister Cities Cup was conducted yesterday afternoon in Christchurch with New Zealand star Another Dollar for trainer J McInerney booking his trip to Adelaide for the $40,000 final on Thursday 27th September at Angle Park.

The defending champion who took out the title on his home track last year flew the lids from box 6 showing his brilliant early speed crossing the field easily and from there was never headed rating a slick 30.50 for the 520m journey.

Joining him in Adelaide will be Know Spunk for trainer G Cleeve who ran a game second to the champ after being crossed early from box 2 however he kept finding to the line to only go down by 3/4 lengths.
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“Rose Hi” Double For Thompson At Casino Greyhounds

There is hardly a meeting goes by on the Northern Rivers without Trevor Thompson’s greyhounds featuring. Most of these dogs are named with a “Rose Hi” moniker and Trevor was at it again on Friday with a winning double at .

It was that opened proceedings for , when he swept around a jamming field at the first turn to race away with the Westlawn Finance stake. He ran 23.52 in winning by 5 1/4 lengths.

Ted Rose Hi, a half brother to Socks, railed through at the top turn to take out a heat of the Ab Casey Memorial in 28 seconds even. He overcame box five, and the time can be ignored when assessing form as it was the final heat, and the track was a little soggy after rain during the day.
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Manawatu Greyhound Club Buckles As GRNZ Call In Debt

The Manawatu Greyhound Racing Club is scrambling for money to pay off a massive debt it says was on it last year by the sport’s governing body.

Lawyers’ letters are arriving, the coffers are bare and the club president has suffered a heart attack from the stress because of the $660,000 bill.

When the new greyhound race track was built at the Manawatu Raceway in 2007, the club thought it had a great deal based on a gentleman’s agreement.
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Greyhound Racing In Chaos As Crime Runs Rampant

In a bizzare aftermath to the story we ran last month with regard to leading trainer David Schofield and his handler Willie Hodgson and their run in with greyhound officialdom and the law; Police have now had to be called to two greyhound meetings last week after threats were made to kill a trainer’s pregnant partner and others.

New Zealand’s Sunday Star Times Racing Editor Barry Lichter has reported that “in scenes described by one frightened bystander as akin to a gangster movie, threats to break bones and “chop your f—ing head off” were made”.

At the the heart of the sensational scenes are allegations of accusations that dogs are being drugged, and an increase in competition for the higher prizemoney on offer after the country’s leading trainer, of Christchurch, a satellite kennel in Palmerston North run by his son Stephen. The fallout has left officials struggling to maintain order in the .
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Greyhound Racing New Zealand Reduces Stakes

Despite the current economic environment, Greyhound Racing New Zealand () has taken every step to try and maintain industry funding to both its Clubs and the Licenced Persons. However the funding impact of the recession has meant that has had no choice other than to reduce stake levels for the next racing season.

From 1 August 2009 all standard minimum stakes will decrease by 5% consistently across all classes and grades as compared to the current 2008/09 season. This 5% decrease is in place of the previously announced 15% stake level reduction.

GRNZ Chief Executive Jeremy F Kennerley explains: “Despite GRNZ making a number of cost savings across various aspects of the ’s business and being prepared to use retained reserves, it has proved impossible to avoid cutting stake levels. The 5% reduction frustratingly negates the 5% increase provided to minimum stakes the same time last year.”
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Leading NZ Trainer Faces Ban After Fiery Night

Leading New Zealand trainer has been warned off all racecourses and faces disqualification on a number of charges including .

And, if the result of an associated hearing against one of Schofield’s handlers is any guide, the North Island’s most successful trainer could be looking at a lengthy ban.

At a hearing in Auckland last week, Schofield’s handler, former Central Districts trainer , was disqualified for nine months on a misconduct charge.
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Waikato Classic Court Injunction Hearing Adjourned

Court proceedings filed against the Waikato & Districts Greyhound Racing Club by prominent Tirau greyhound trainer were yesterday adjourned at the Hamilton District Court to next month.

Earlier this month Mr Harding successfully applied for a district court injunction to postpone the $30,000 First Sovereign Trust Waikato Classic greyhound race at Cambridge.
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Todays Wairarapa Cup At Brewer/Gilbert/Lord’s Mercy

The Wairarapa Greyhound Racing has pulled off a coup for their TAB meeting at Solway Showgrounds, Masterton today.

Mindful of the strong support they receive from the local Community, both in terms of sponsorship and patronage, the club sought permission to change the starting time from midday until after 5pm to give greater numbers of people the opportunity to attend, and the TAB agreed to their request.
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GRNZ Seek Harsher Penalty For “Punchy” President

In stark contrast to the GRV’s pathetic handling of Jason Thompson’s alleged assault in the aftermath of the Mlebourne Cup, Greyhound Racing New Zealand has appealed a three-month disqualification handed down to a former Auckland Greyhound Racing Club President over his assault on a trainer.

The ’s ruling body wanted banned for 12 months over his attack at a race meeting last October when he allegedly took offence at Waiuku trainer ’s behaviour, knocked him into a flower bed, jumped on top of him, and unleashed a barrage of blows to his head.
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Top NZ Owner Trainer Escapes Procaine Positive With Fine

On the back of two recent Australian in to to , one of New Zealand’s best-known owners and administrators, , has escaped being fined or suspended after one of his greyhounds returned a positive drug test.

New Zealand Racing Board member Green, who co-owned champion galloper Sunline, faced a charge of presenting a greyhound to race with a drug, procaine, in its system.
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NZ’s Waikato Classic Postponed By Court Injunction

The Waikato Times is reporting what we beleive to be the very first case of an Australian or New Zealand race in any of the three codes being postponed due to a taken out be a disgruntled participant.

Many greyhound owners, trainers and interested parties have often considered a court injunction when a finaliseed feature race draw has wrongly excluded, or wrongly included, a greyhound and the local greyhound authorities or club have not fixed their mistake or shown any inclination to “make good” on the problem. But none ’til now, to our knowledge; have followed though with it.
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Lord/Gilbert/Brewer Training Combo Train Half The Solway Card

Anyone who doubted that and would make an instant impact on New Zealand Greyhound Racing had those doubts quickly erased last Sunday when the Foxton trainers, training under the training names of and Jodi Gilbert; won almost half the card at the Wellington Greyhound Racing Club’s highly successful TAB meeting at Solway Showgrounds on Sunday.

Lord and Gilbert have only just resumed training after the team dominated New South Wales Greyhound Racing for many years, until Gilbert was disqualified in 2005 for 18 months after a greyhound trained in her name returned a positive to a metabolite of , the same metabolite () as involved in Tony Sacco’s recent positive swab in Victoria.
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Happy Ending For NZ’s Lost GAP Greyhound Missy

Missy the greyhound may no longer be fast around the racetrack, but her story of survival over 24 days has highlighted her endurance skills.

Missy, a 10-year-old former racing and breeding greyhound adopted by Christchurch couple Barbara and Gary Miln two years ago through Hounds 4 Homes, was found on December 29th after disappearing on December 5.
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Four Of NZ’s Best Greyhounds Go Head To Head

Four top greyhounds will battle it out in the $60,000 New Zealand Shootout race at Manukau Stadium on Thursday night.

Greyhound Racing New Zealand () Racing Manager Ross Gove says the race is unique as it features only four dogs and is ‘winner takes all’.
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Size Can Matter All The Way Platinum Paws Winner

The biggest stake in the history of NZ Greyhound Racing in Australasia is heading to Queensland. Race favourite comfortably won the $250,000 final at Raceway Friday night, and the $NZ135,000 first-place cheque.
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Size Can Matter All Set For Platinum Paws Glory

The flight across the Tasman has not phased Queensland’s hopes at taking out New Zealand’s richest greyhound race, says top trainer .
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NZ Greyhound Racing Centenary Celebrations Start

Greyhound Racing New Zealand’s () commemoration of 100 Years of Governance starts today. The Centenary will unite people from all over the country to look back on what we’ve achieved together over the last century.
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Australasia’s Best Set For Platinum Paws Final

Excitement is building as New Zealand’s richest ever greyhound race draws near. The Gold Band Finance race will run this Friday 17 October at 8:33 pm.
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NZ Greyhound Trainer Profile : Craig Roberts – Part 2

After several years at the top of the greyhound training tree, found the pressures of the job proving too much. In the second of a two-part series, he talks to David McCarthy about changes he made and his plea for a new greyhound track in Canterbury.
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Size Can Matter A Class Above In Platinum Paws

confirmed his favouritism for Friday nights Final with an impressive all the way 30.14 win at on Friday night.
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NZ Greyhound Trainer Profile : Craig Roberts – Part 1

New Zealander came to greyhound training from a family of harness-racing enthusiasts, and success in another career. He switched after spending time at NZ’s old QE II race track at New Brighton. In the first of a two-part series, he talks about the good and bad along the way.
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Octanol Primed For Platinum Paws Semi Finals Friday

The -owned and trained WA greyhound has settled in and trialled well in his quest to win New Zealand’s richest ever greyhound race – the NZ$250,000 .
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Platinum Paws Favourite & NZ’s Best Chance Knocked Out

Drama and sensation were the order of the opening day of the historic $250,000 greyhound meeting at yesterday, and easily the biggest sensation was the exit of hotly favoured local bitch , who went out of the series after falling at the first turn and spraining a wrist.
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Aussies Land In NZ In Seach Of Platinum Paws Glory

New Zealand Greyhound Racing is getting ready to celebrate the richest dog race ever held in the country, the $250,000 .
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Jaykayell To Represent SA At Platinum Paws

Following last Thursday night’s one-off SA Heat of the , has earned the right to represent South Australia in New Zealand for the .
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Platinum Paws Just One Part Of NZ Centenary Celebrations

In less than four weeks Greyhound Racing New Zealand () will commemorate 100 Years of Governance with a three day celebration in Christchurch.
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NSW Trainers Side Step NZ Platinum Paws Series

Following on from the poor nominations from Victorian trainers for New Zealands Series, New South Wales has attracted just three nominations.
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NSW Platinum Paws Noms Close Tomorrow

In the wake of Victoria’s failed attempt to attract nominations for New Zealand’s Series, nominations for the New South Wales heats and final close tomorrow.
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Victorian Greyhound Trainers Shun Platinum Paws Series

Victorian greyhound trainers have demonstrated their disatisfaction with the Platinum Pawes Series by voting with their feet and not nominating for the series.
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