The Sunday Afternoon “Finish On”

THE shenanigans of four protestors chaining themselves to the running rail at Cannington on Saturday night threw the night's racing schedule into chaos.

While all the attention on Perth was at Optus Stadium, very little air time has been given to the lunatics who were promptly marched away by police.

The police arrived from Cannington Station which is just minutes away, but are they to be charged with trespass, public mischief or any other law and order breach?

Names were taken but is that all?

Should a patron have entered the playing arena at Optus Stadium, a substantial fine is applied and bans are placed on perpetrators.

Just how Greyhounds WA (or any other track venue) deals with a repeat of the September 3 incident is one thing but there needs to be decisive court action.

Unfortunately, Cannington Police were uncontactable for follow up but more on that as soon as it's available.

RUMOUR MILL

The Bush Telegraph has no peer when it comes to escalating rumours and the latest beat up is the number of positive swabs being returned in NSW.

The rumour mill reckoned a record number of positive returns (up to 70) have been uncovered yet the reporting procedure for the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission is such that only the trainer (and owner if applicable) is notified of an A Sample positive.

One, two or three positive swabs maybe but how do single digits get so out of hand?

Regulators are certainly upping the incidence of out of competition testing and, in Queensland, a greater emphasis on hair testing is underway.

It's understood integrity officers were knocking on doors at 6am on Sunday this week – certainly not working regular nine-to-five hours.

Multiple visits in a racing week may well be the new norm and no one should be surprised by out of hours visits.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

The Masters Meteor is one of seven feature races on Million Dollar Chase night at Wentworth Park in just three weeks.

A winner's purse of $100,000 has, finally, caught the attention of interstate trainers (with dogs some arriving early) but there is next to no opportunity for Masters-aged dogs in NSW away from Wentworth Park (over 520m or thereabouts).

In September only four meetings for the entire month have Masters races programmed and only one (at The Gardens last Friday) is not at Wenty.

Is programming so tough? How does GRNSW's racing department expect trainers – in a state wide consideration – to keep older dogs in work with no racing schedule to follow?

It's greyhound racing's Fields Of Dreams …. Yes, a "if you build it, they will come" metaphor.

Nomination flow will always be the get-out clause for graders but there should be no excuse for not programming ‘500m' Masters events … if the nomination numbers don't measure up, at least they tried.

NO DOWNSIDE

Another interesting (and frustrating) aspect of the NSW grading policy surrounds unplaced runs for interstate dogs.

Wins are treated the same for interstate venues in NSW for provincial grading while only ‘metro' wins elevate a dog in grade at Wentworth Park on a Saturday night.

It's up, up, up but there's no down!

Any interstate dog nominating for NSW meetings will only have wins counted and no drop back in grade occurs outside NSW venues. How is that fair?

It's a like paying income tax and not being allowed any income bearing deductions.

The formula in WA and Queensland for example, which also runs through OzChase, is more pliable and drop back in grades are in place for all dogs at the correct distance category.

There's no incentive for trainers to head to NSW with dogs having won more than five races and race on provincial tracks whatsoever but does anyone at Oxford St really care?

Change must be made and many consider the NSW policy the worst in the land, possibly worldwide!

CASHING IN

News that Sportsbet has secured exclusive naming rights for all venues and all of Greyhound Racing Victoria's flagship races provides a massive financial boost for all.

Previously Tabcorp had naming rights without significant cash injection yet the Sportsbet deal provides real value in the Garden State with a multi-million dollar commitment from the boys in blue for a contracted five years.

While GRV is yet to disclose distribution initiatives, Victoria's 13 clubs will secure the bulk of the coin with prizemoney allocation handled by the peak body with the prospect of individual clubs increasing ‘top up' payments.

New Deal: GRV And Sportsbet Join Forces in ground-breaking new sponsorshiphttps://t.co/TnGDwtABp5

— Greyhound Recorder (@GreyRecorder) August 31, 2022

Sportsbet leads the way with wagering marketing in this country and it's exciting to have such an innovative, new age digital platform experts so engaged to promote greyhound racing.

Last year, Sportsbet took a huge punt on Wow She's Fast in the inaugural The Phoenix and came up trumps and they're back to The Phoenix Mk II.

Successful applicants for Phoenix slots (run at The Meadows on December 17) will be announced on Friday.

WHAT'S IN A NAME

Jake and Jamie McJannett have produced some pretty smart dogs over a span of more than 20 years with Ebby Miss (sold as a pup) being a stellar producer.

In recent weeks, Jake has had a few medical issues to deal with yet still takes great pride and interest in the progeny the father and son team have bred.

His latest litter (by Feral Franky out of Establish, Sir Truculent's dam) are only eight months old and, unless sold in the next few weeks, will be retained and race in Victoria. What names they attain will be interesting.

Jamie has two Establish pups in work now – Divorced and Marriage Over.

After enduring a domestic separation, the names came to Jamie quite easily.

It will be quite ironical if the duo live up to Sir Truculent's high standards and provide a ‘get square' in the divorce remorse stakes.

IN LINE

Unbeaten juvenile Zipping Orlando is a serious individual.

What's interesting about the January '21 son of Zipping Garth is that he's very closely in-bred.

His maternal and paternal great grand sire is Where's Pedro while Malfoy appears in both side of his maternal pedigree.

? 4️⃣ Four for Finn! 4️⃣ ?

Team Finn had 4 winners at #WentyPark last night – who was the most impressive?

✅ Zipping Orlando R3
✅ Zipping Alabama R5
✅ Zipping Sabrina R7
✅ Zipping Karen R9#thedogs #GreyhoundRacing @NSWGBOTA pic.twitter.com/0h3JkgI1qC

— The Dogs (@Thedogs_com_au) September 1, 2022

Adding to the breeding conundrum is that his dam (Zipping Dharma) was particularly quick but not overly strong (and the end of 500m).

Zipping Orlando already looks a potential top line stayer in-the-making and, on pedigree, that's quite extraordinary.

PLAN A

Eight Round Three heats of the Irish Derby were conducted at Shelbourne Park on Saturday night with four of eight winners being by Droopy's Sydney.

While beaten by Tullig Raven in the night's opener, Explosive Boy – a likely export to these shores for stud duties – has qualified for the Quarter Finals on September 10.

Niall Codd is buzzin after Tullig Raven won the opening heat. #BoyleSportsIGD @BoyleSports @shelbournepark 29.56. pic.twitter.com/3vhl2Imtwq

— Sarah Kinsella (@BoyleSportsSK) September 3, 2022

"The discussions I've had with the owner was that if Explosive Boy won the Irish Derby, he'd be retired to stud and would come here," Paul Westerveld said.

"There has been good interest in him but there's been only 21 vials sent to Australia for the short term yet he's had a number of matings in Ireland.

"Aussie bitch Zipping Sassy was purchased from the Hallinans and sent to Ireland … she's due any day and X-rayed with a big litter."

A front runner with excellent box manners, Explosive Boy has drawn box one in the quarter final and comes up against Round Three heat winners Crafty Kokoro and Callaway Pro Am.

It's not a ‘hot' quarter final but nothing can be taken for granted.