Snow’s carnival hopes start with Lakeside Cup

By Josh Spasaro

Ipswich trainer Ned Snow believes Extreme Tension can continue his progression through the grades with another strong performance in the Lakeside Cup Final at Q1 Lakeside on Saturday night.

The three-year-old has won three of his past four starts going into the $45,005 feature over 457 metres and has drawn the three box.

“He’s going all right at the moment. It’s going to be a hard race, isn’t it?” Snow said.

“He’s a lot better dog when he’s up on the pace and I think he’s well drawn in the three, so he’s going to be competitive again.

“We just hope we get the breaks. I was happy with the draw, but as I say, they’re all good dogs in this race.”

Even after observing Extreme Tension’s last start when he finished third in his Lakeside Cup heat – crossing the line in 25.41 seconds – Snow was happy with his effort, after being faced with early traffic.

With 17 wins from 37 races Extreme Tension has been starting well and has been strong on the back and home straights.

“He’s a good chaser and we’ve been pretty lucky with him. He’s been injury-free. That’s a big part of it,” Snow said.

Snow has bigger and better 2025 Queensland Winter Greyhound Racing Carnival plans for Extreme Tension if he proves he belongs in good company on Saturday night.

“We hope to get him into the big races. I do think he’ll run 600 metres OK,” he said.

“There are some good ones coming up, so let’s hope he stays sound.”

Snow trained Extreme Tension’s dam, Go Lou Go, who saluted on 13 occasions from 61 starts for owner Glen Munro.

“It’s a funny story. I told him (Munro) to buy that bitch and it’s gone all right for me,” he said.

“It’s turned out good for him and for me.”

Extreme Tension is by two-time Group 1-winner, Out Of Range, with retired consistent performers Pocket Money and Shipwreck among his progeny.

“We had a good litter with Out Of Range, with Shipwreck and Pocket Money,” Snow said.

“She (Go Lou Go) always put in, which is the main part about it.”

Meanwhile, Snow was happy to see his two-year-old Hey Jack salute for the third time in his last start on Saturday night, after three previous finishes where he stopped chasing and finished last on each occasion.

He will start from box three in the QGOLD Rookies Final, also over 457 metres at Q1 Lakeside on Saturday night.

“I was pleased to see Hey Jack come back the other night. He was going really well early at Ipswich and I got offered a good price for him,” Snow said.

“Then he stopped chasing, so I decided not to sell him. We tried a few tricks on him and he came out and won at a big price the other day.

“So, I just hope that he’s back to his best. We’re trying for a double, but it doesn’t always work out that way.”