By Isaac Murphy
The Listed Carnival Sprint got the thrilling finish it deserved.
Gun Queenslander’s Limited Edition and Farmor Beach paired off in an exhilarating run to the post with Limited Edition sticking her nose out to score for trainer Travis Elson.
You couldn’t begrudge the winner, who’s been as honest as anything in Best 8 and Winged Runner races leading up to the sprint and finally got things on her terms for a deserved win.
“I’m so proud of this bitch she’s been trying so hard against similar Group Class fields but whether it’s a tough box or luck in running it just hasn’t been going her way, but she’s never dropped her head and tonight’s a big reward,” Elson said.
“When she came on the scene as a 500 metre bitch it was all about her first two sectionals and holding on late, but she’s started to look more and more like her mother Cyndie’s Magic and she showed that strength tonight running down Farmor Beach.
“Winning a Listed race is fantastic but this means so much more for her, she puts her name forward for Origin selection and gives her that win that should set her on the right path for the Brisbane Cup.”
Elson now has two chasers who are going to play a big part in the upcoming TAB Queensland Winter Greyhound Racing Carnival when he was struggling to find a Thursday runner earlier this year.
“She might not run the time of some of the interstate dogs but the way she races, always one of the first out and now developing a strong run home she’s going to force them to run some big races,” Elson said.
“It’s similar with Hope’s King it wasn’t his night tonight but give him a good box and he’s proven over the last month that he can beat anyone on his night.
“It was a goal of mine to get these two back to competitive Thursday night racing and they’ve exceeded my expectations, we’ll have plenty of fun the next month or so.”
Races
Lagogiane getting a head start of interstaters
One of the chasers Elson will be tangling with is Peter Lagogiane’s Group 3 Ladies Bracelet winner Pay Call.
Pay Call made a successful return to Albion Park for the leading New South Wales trainer on Thursday night.
“She hadn’t trialled leading in I was relying on her experience up here under John Dart who had her as a young bitch, so I was more than happy to see her go around in one piece,” Lagogiane said.
“The small field helped her get to the front and set up that race winning lead, she was probably entitled to get a bit tired late, but they tell me the time (29.85 seconds) is pretty handy.
“The goal is to get this bitch a start in the Origin Series and then the Brisbane Cup, so wins like this are really important boosting her profile with the selectors.”
It was the cream on top of a successful night for Lagogiane who saw Million Dollar Chase winner Handsome Prince run a brilliant time before the first.
“I was tickled pink with Handsome Prince’s post-to-post that’s the first time he’s run over 400 metres since we tipped him out in March and he’s run great time (24.07 seconds),” Lagogiane said.
“I’ll look to get him a start either this week or next just to get the feel of racing back before he has a crack in the Origin Series.
“Given the time he’s had off he’ll probably need a couple of runs to find his absolute best which we think he’ll be at for the Brisbane Cup.”
Logogiane has gone all in on the TAB Queensland Winter Greyhound Racing Carnival, effectively relocating his kennel to Queensland for the duration.
“I’ve only got six dogs in work at the moment and with the Listed and Group races on offer over the carnival I just thought I’d bring all six up and see how they go in their different grades,” he said.
“Dan Henry’s taken us in at Churchable, so we’ve got some great facilities to give the dogs a bit of a home away from home.
“You take any little advantage you can get and being one of the first interstate kennels up here and not travelling back and forth throughout the carnival can only help.”
Races
Temper tears establishes staying credentials
Darren Russell enjoyed a training double on Thursday night.
The most intriguing of his runners was former New South Wales-based greyhound Temper Tears, who showed he was right at home first time over the 700 metres at Albion Park, blowing past the talented Smart Lilly late.
“He was racing the best dogs in New South Wales as a young two-year-old but just wasn’t quite up to the level, so the owners sent him up here to try to win a few races and get some confidence before the Winter Carnival,” Russell said.
“I took my time letting him settle in and getting him fit, he’s been at my place for the last two months but only started racing three weeks ago.
“I wasn’t too worried about his first few runs over 600 metres I just wanted to see him running home well, he’s been doing that hence the 700 metres this week and he’s come from a way off them to win.”
The dog looks like a born stayer, happy to bide his time in transit with sustained speed taking him past the leaders.
“He got things his own way tonight, he’s not a dog whose quick out but if you leave him alone he’ll run all day, it was encouraging to see him go straight past the front two and not get held up,” he said.
“The time’s decent (42.05 seconds), to be competitive in some of the bigger races we’ve got coming up he’ll need to shave a few tenths off but given that was his first seven hundred it’s definitely a pass.
“There are that many options for our stayers this carnival, I think he can definitely be competitive come Queensland Cup time.”
Russell started the night on the front foot with promising youngster Hondo Herrera finally breaking his Novice and doing it in style, high balling out in front by 11 lengths.
“It’s a big sigh of relief to finally get his (Hondo Herrera) Novice out of the way, I would have liked to have done it a couple of months ago, but he clearly wasn’t as ready as I thought he was,” Russell said.
“I’ve still got a fair opinion of him, he’s just got to learn things aren’t always going to go your way when you’re racing in a field.
“He got some luck early tonight, but as you saw give him some space and he can go through his gears and run a strong 500 metres.”
