Golden Greys Summer Carnival heating up

By Andrew Smith

The Golden Greys Summer Carnival continues to go from strength to strength, with first-class racing on show at last week’s Bogie Leigh Futurity, Golden Sands and Queensland Derby meeting.

Queenslanders came to the fore with the Jemma-Daley trained Hara’s Pandora taking home the Bogie Leigh, before Shaye took out the Golden Sands for Jedda Cutlack.

Jay Is Jay capped off the stellar night for Sunshine State chasers at Albion Park with a win in the Queensland Derby.

Last month, it was a night to remember for husband and wife trainers Doug and Heather Gladman, with Tyanna Belle defying expectations to take out the $60,000 Queensland Flame and booking a spot in The Phoenix in the process.

Tyanna Belle went on to run a gallant race to finish sixth in $1.65 million feature at The Meadows against some of the nation’s premier chasers.

And the best is still yet to come with the Golden Ticket kicking off this week as a lead-up to the summer’s premier sprint event, the Group 1 Gold Bullion.

The winner of the $70,000 Golden Ticket on January 19 will receive automatic entry into the $300,000 showpiece a fortnight later.

The heats of the Golden Ticket will be conducted as four-dog shootouts, with the final conducted as two-dog match races – the winner determined by fastest time.

In the Gold Bullion, there’s added incentive for trainers, with this year’s winner to take home record prize money.

The Golden Greys Summer Carnival’s marquee race will be run for $375,000 on February 2, with the winner receiving $250,000, up from $200,000 in 2022.

On the same night at Albion, the winner of the Golden Oldies will collect $30,000, an increase from $17,500.

Australia’s richest maiden greyhound race, the Group 3 Vince Curry Memorial at Ipswich, will also benefit from a prize money injection to $112,525, with the winner receiving $75,000.

The final of the maiden super contest will act as the Carnival’s closing night on February 4 and boasts an honour roll that includes Queensland Hall of Fame inductees High Earner and Just The Best.

Last year’s victor Shipwreck further enhances the event’s star-making reputation.

Racing Queensland EGM Operations Adam Wallish said it would be a fitting finale to the Summer Carnival, which is benefiting in part from a $9 million injection into the greyhound code in 2023.

“It’s been an outstanding Summer Carnival so far, and this prize money increase is befitting the growth of the code in Queensland,” Mr Wallish said.

“It’s fantastic news for greyhound racing, on top of the announcement that the prize money in the Brisbane Cup will almost double from $525,000 to $1 million this year.

“The recent Investment Growth Plan will see us deliver a further $31 million in prize money across the three codes in what is an exciting time for racing across the state.

“We would once again like to thank the Palaszczuk Government and their recent Betting Tax reform, which has enabled us to invest record amounts of prize money back into the greyhound industry.”

Event details on the remaining major features of the Golden Greys carnival are provided below.

Click here for more information on the full Golden Greys Summer Carnival.