The Sunday Afternoon “Finish On

In less than seven days, it will be the 21^st anniversary of Hahn Bale's National Derby win at Wentworth Park.

The handsome red fawn dog was Frank Gatt's first starter at the elite level and his dominant all-the-way win over Faithful Hawk was the spark that ignited a flame.

His passion for greyhound racing runs deep and had Saturday's Group 1 Zoom Top at The Meadows been 730m rather than 725m for Stanley Road, Frank may well have caused a ruckus.

On Thursday, he underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery and remains in the intensive care unit in Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital but was still fully focused on the action in Melbourne's north west.

In recent times, Frank's sons – Mark and Daniel – have partnered in training with great success yet, despite their significant results, a Wentworth Park Group 1 sprint has proven elusive.

Before health issues struck a decade back, Frank trained former WBF World Middleweight champion Shannan Taylor and Australian lightweight champion Mick Mlacic.

This battle is very different yet, with the miracles of modern medicine at play, its one his doctors are confident of winning and, by February 20 – the anniversary of that 1999 National Derby – he should be back home and on the road to a full recovery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THEN AND NOW

On debut, dual Group 1 winner Wow dwelt from the rails alley at Bulli and could only finished seconds to Seventeen Twelve in 22.71 secs over 400m.

The super sprinter finally won his maiden at start four – also at Bulli over 400m – and a stellar career was off and running.

After Saturday's Temlee success at The Meadows, the son of Fernando Bale boasts 17 wins from just 26 starts and, next time, he shoots for his 10^th successive win with the past six in Group 1 or 2 company.

It's a remarkable achievement.

Since that debut outing the week before Christmas in 2019 – at the height of the NSW bushfires emergency – he's accumulated $284,290 for Karina Britton while Seventeen Twelve has managed no wins and only three placings in 10 starts.

As they say, it's not how you start …

MEANWHILE AT BULLI

The hoopla of a Group 1 win at The Meadows might have held the attention of the few trackside on Saturday night yet there's little doubt Karina Britton's focus would have been elsewhere.

Wow had given his all in the Temlee yet litter brother Ad Astra was to line up in a Bulli Gold Cup just 14 minutes later.

His job was less problematic and a quick start from the inside alley parlayed into a gritty 26.11 secs win over Jax Kade and Mr Ticket.

Ad Astra's sections were indeed slick (9.83s, 19.50s) yet well shy of the remarkable speed shown by Barcia Blue Boy in heat two.

He cut out 9.75s and 19.31s to the home turn. His first section was quicker than Aston Dee Bee's offering in his record breaking 25.78s effort in April 2017.

Aston Dee Bee's second section that night was 19.25s which underscores the depth of this Gold Cup series.

Shima Shine posted 19.30s in his Million Dollar Chase heat win late last year while Poppy Jack later ran the same second sectional as Barcia Blue Boy.

The Group 2 $40,000 to-the-winner Gold Cup will be decided on Saturday and it's sure to be combative and super competitive.

Ad Astra has snared the inside running but he's certainly better drawn wide and early pressure will come from Barcia Blue Boy (box three) … his pace is electric.

Poppy Jack is right in the mix and presently $4 and on the third line of betting with TAB Fixed Odds.

AT LONG LAST?

The bush telegraph has been running hot for a few days regarding positive news for NSW participants.

Rumour can often manifest into false hope but rank-and-file participants need meaningful and urgent assistance.

Meat prices have increased by more than 30 per cent in the past 12 months and many suppliers are having trouble even sourcing commercial quantities.

Kibble costs have also accelerated but the protein content in kibble does diminish as prices rise.

The cost of food, however, has not accelerated as extravagantly as veterinary services.

Just one example, in the last 10 days, was a $4000 bill for a friend's young bitch which required vast suturing after getting into a ‘scrap' with siblings.

Anesthesia, surgery, antibiotics, changed bandages etc all come at a cost yet it's staggering that in-house veterinary care (that's post-surgery) came to $2000 in just three days!

The owner elected to take the bitch home on day four and she's doing fine but it was against the vet's advice.

Injury rebate schemes have eased the burden on owners with dogs which suffer career ending injuries on the track yet the good grace of authorities has been a trigger for some vets to accelerate superannuation plans.

The GRNSW blueprint is expected to be unveiled this week and let's hope it can deliver on expectation.

What would further assist trainers in NSW would be for the Victorian model of free trials at racetracks to be instituted.

Yes, it comes at a cost (from the prizemoney pool) yet the savings do not discriminate. Trainers on 50-50 prizemoney deals have borne the brunt of this inflationary period and they deserve a break too.

THE WILD WEST

Some interesting stats have surfaced in WA around the success of the state's leading trainers.

Since 1991, Linda Britton has accumulated 4940 winners and $12,328,971 (since 2000) at a winning strike rate of 23.5 per cent.

Other notables include Dave Hobby 2973 winners since 1996 ($10,710,860 at 21.8 per cent) and Lexia Isaac's 3172 winners from 1990 when she had just 10 starters for a single win.

This year, Dave Hobby heads a congested WA trainers' premiership with 21 wins and $199,865. Damien Crudeli sits second with 29 wins, four to-the-good of dad Enzo while Linda Britton's partner Chris Halse is next with 23 wins.

The Greyhound Recorder's own stats provide a fantastic insight for breeders while Greyhound Data has next level pedigree access yet the WA Greyhounds Online info is a blueprint for promotion of the code and, potentially, should be taken up nationwide.

It's something which Greyhounds Australasia should be driving.