Boxing Day test for Evans’ distance dreams

By Pat McLeod

Riley Evans is sweating through his first Australian Christmas trying not to plan too far into his 2026 wish list for kennel ace Goldstar Sandler.

With the high-profile New Zealand greyhound racing family close to completing their transition to Churchable, Australia, post-Christmas is a parade of possibilities for their talented Federal Morgan and Goldstar Journey chaser.

On Boxing Day night, Goldstar Sandler will launch from box seven in the Final of the Middle Distance Challenge on the Q2 Parklands circuit.

Then coming in quick succession, also over 600 metres on the Q2, are the New Year’s Trophy Final next Thursday night (January 1) and then the heats (January 8) and Final (January 15) of the Group 1 Golden Sands.

“The New Year's Trophy and then the Golden Sands are definitely the next on the target, so that’s what we have planned at the moment,” the young trainer said.

“But, what I have learned since coming here is not to get too far ahead of yourself. However, part of why I am doing that is just being young and having ambitions to win big races.

“But, you just need to constantly keep in mind to slow down. These dogs are not invincible and things can go happen. So, we will just take it one race at a time.”

Goldstar Sandler’s heat win last week was the dog’s first start over the 600 metres on the Q2 and follows stellar performances on the Q1.

“I have been really happy with him (Goldstar Sandler),” Evans said.

“It has taken him a while to get used to the Q2.

“He is coming out and finding trouble straight out of the boxes. He has had no room to move early and he is a dog that likes a wee bit of room.

“But, we know how good he is from racing on the Q1. At one stage he was just off the track record there.

“He is a serious, serious dog over 457 metres and 550 metres on the Q1, so we were just trying to get him onto the Q2 and have a campaign there leading into the carnival and give him some experience on that track.

“Before these recent starts he had never raced on a two-turn track anywhere.

“So, it is just about giving him experience on the two-turn and then we will go back to the one-turn.”

Evans believes Goldstar Sandler will improve on last week’s run when he just held out a fast-finishing Warm Cockles (trained by Martina Kirillidis).

“Yes, he should be better this week,” Evans said.

“It was the first time out of those boxes and I did think he was a tiny bit weak late than what he should have been.

“But, I have freshened him up this week and I believe with a bit more freshness in his legs he should go forward.

“I believe Goldstar Sandler is drawn very well in the seven, outside of Validate (Jeff Crawford) in the six. Hopefully Validate will pull him into the race.

“Stowaway (Tom Tzouvelis) off the one, is drawn really well. He is a really serious animal, but the whole field is littered with talent.

“It is only a small race compared to what we will be racing for soon and it will be a really good test for our dog. We just hope that we can be handy by the winning post.”

Evans said his family was looking forward to enjoying their first Australian Christmas.

“Dad (Steve) is back (from New Zealand) and my girlfriend (Maddie Houtos) has family here, so it will be pretty good,” he explained.

“We have also formed quite a big greyhound family, including the Darguschs and Tim (Britton) and Martina (Kirillidis) and will enjoy seeing them, as well.

“The heat, well at the moment it isn’t too bad, but the air conditioner is our best friend.”