The Sunday Afternoon Finish On

$1M Chase Gets Down To The Nitty Gritty

The TAB Million Dollar Chase is getting down to serious business with Saturday's maximum of eight heats at Wentworth Park closing the broad qualifying process.

A vast array of talent with be making that last-ditch foray and, with Victorians Shima Shine, Tiggerlong Tonk, Faithy Bale, Simon Told Helen getting the job done at Bulli, Wagga Wagga, Richmond and Temora, the pathway is defined for an influx this week.

What is complicated at this stage, however, is the ease of arrival for WA star Tommy Shelby, NZ invitee Leonard Bale and, to a lesser degree, Tasmanian Siberia.

COVID-19 restrictions have impacted heavily on numbers and there will be much for GRNSW to digest in a post October 16 debrief.

At the top of the list might be the capacity to draw good numbers – at the 500m distance range – across the state.

No doubt the Richmond 535m heats were the deepest, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga the ‘leanest' and there was a mishmash in between.

And it was the Richmond final on Friday which also raised the issue of programming. The MDC Final at Richmond was race nine – a timeslot fixed by Sky Racing in order to have a clear five-minute window into the race.

What beggar's belief is for GRNSW to add another race to the card so that this cracking contest fell outside the Quadrella wagering.

Friday's Quaddie held $2658.67 on the NSW TAB with two 330m and two 400m legs – both grade five events. Seven days earlier, the MDC heats completed the full Quadrella coverage and the same wagering component held $5925.61.

Need I go on? GRNSW, since the introduction of prizemoney equalisation across distances, has not programmed enough races in the 500m distance range in a pro-active manner and their bottom line is all about turnover.

Much of the vast TAB income is significantly limited by a skewed inter-code agreement yet corporate payments (via racefields legislation) are not and they bet of Quaddies too!

THE RIGHT PATH?

To close the night at Richmond, race 11 was a Pathways over 400m which Dance For Nance won by a huge margin in moderate time (23.05s).

Her domination highlights two things: Whenever a reserve gets a start in a Pathways event, he/she is effectively the best performed dog in the contest and the second is why are these races not confined to the Saturday morning programs?

It's understood that all dogs, regardless of form or ability, need to be catered for but it's hard to fathom why higher rated dogs miss out (at any meeting) when the lowest eight ranked on points is guaranteed a start.

It would not happen in the gallops or trots!

WATCHING ON

While there is not a lot of non-TAB racing in NSW any more, the quiet word is that live streaming of such races might just engage wagering partners and maintain the longevity of venues like Young, Kempsey, Broken Hill, Muswellbrook and or Coonamble for example.

Much like the BAGS venues in the UK, the Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service which, while offering very low prizemoney, provides an opportunity to race and have a bet.

http://www.bagsracing.com/

The NSW TAB will be watching this space closely as the rise of corporate streaming is sharp and a new player in the game will heat things up.

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

It's been a good seven days for Shelbourne Park track record holder Pestana after he suffered a leg fracture in the Irish Derby Final on September 19.

His record breaking 28.99s win in the second round of the €115,000 (A$190,000) to-the-winner series assured him a successful career at stud and it is his pedigree which catches the eye.

Since Frightful Flash left these shores in the early ‘90's, a brace of Aussie exports has invigorated the Irish bloodlines. And there is significant ‘colonial' blood in Pestana's veins.

His paternal great-grandsire is Roanokee and Top Honcho sits on the same top line of his dam's pedigree while Big Daddy Cool is also represented. Then there is the influence of US legend Flying Penske and Kinloch Brae.

GRAFTON'S PROGRESS

The complete renovation of the Grafton track is moving apace.

The entire track and the old amenities block is not more and, after only four weeks of work being conducted, President John Corrigan could not be happier with the progress.

"At this stage, the only real concern is the long weather forecast," Corrigan said.

"Our project manager (Shaun Drury) is doing a great job and tenders for building of the track and kennel will go to market early next month and be in hand in November.

Pic: Grafton GRC

"It will be effectively a greenfield site … we will have three distances (350m, 450m and 660m) which should cater for all dogs and there will be no starts on a bend."

Should construction commence in mid-November, Corrigan hopes to start trialling by early April.

"The long-range forecasters are predicting a La Nina weather cycle which brings considerable rain (including cyclones) but let's hope they're wrong," he laughed.

SANDOWN'S RETURN

A track inspection on September 24 will see Sandown Park to resume racing on October 4.

Trials will be conducted this Wednesday and again on Friday with heats of the Great Chase the highlight for the resumption.

The first metro meeting is set for Thursday October 8 which marks 50 days until the TAB Melbourne Cup. Special events over 515m and 715m will highlight the card with the winner of the 515m edition to be exempt into Cup heats on Friday November 20.

"I'm expecting it to be the Sandown of old," Racing and Media Manager Mick Floyd said.

"The track will appear the same colour yet, with additional drainage closer to the inside rail, it will be ‘drier' across the width and be more consistent."

Melbourne Cup Preludes commence on October 15 and it would be great boost to this great series should the Victorian Government open borders.

NSW GOTY

Greyhound Clubs Australia's Facebook streaming of their annual awards was a beauty and it did open the door to another question.

Since 2015, there has been no Greyhound of The Year Award in NSW and, surely in this age of multimedia, it's time for that void to be filled.

There needs to be no extravagance or expensive gala function but the recognition of excellence, a celebration of high achievement, is missing.

And not just for the current day either, with a need for outstanding achievement over the past five years to be celebrated also.

Just do it GRNSW! A start would be to give Dave Simonette at GCA a call?