The Sunday Afternoon ‘Finish On'

"THE first step in solving a problem is recognising there is one" is a part of a timeless soliloquy from Aaron Sorkin's brilliant television drama The Newsroom which ran for just three seasons and has nothing to do with greyhound racing.

In the first episode, Will McEvoy (Jeff Daniels) delivered a speech on America's shortcomings as a nation during a question-and-answer session at Northwestern University and the aforementioned quote might well underscore the state of play with track preparation for greyhound racing across this nation.

A significant rain incident brought about abandonments at Bulli and Gosford earlier this month while Ipswich and Albion Park have had 28 meetings called off in this financial year yet the situation at Sandown Park on Thursday must, surely, be the ‘straw that breaks the camel's back' in Victoria.

Only seven races were completed at Sandown on Thursday before persistent rain caused the track to deteriorate and no rectification was possible.

The final five races were abandoned and prize money was evenly split between all runners (something which happens everywhere except in Queensland!).

Victorian issues are not constrained to Sandown, however. At Sandown, there seems to be different levels of saturation around the track and a complete overhaul is long overdue.

Exacerbating the Sandown saga is that the track was harrowed to 75mm (considered deep) four days earlier.

Unfortunately, with Cranbourne out of action, the SouthEast region has little racing options available and the greyhound population in that precinct is vast.

Now, let's go back to the Ballarat meeting on April 14 which was conducted just three days after a medium track harrow was completed.

There was just 2.2ml of rain between the harrowing of the track and race day yet the surface cleared for racing looked to be in terrible shape.

Safe surfaces are the prime objective for all concerned yet wagering is still a factor in this modern era and Power Out – a 21.88 winner over 390m last month at Ballarat – led all-the-way in Race 4 to score in 22.51.

The best time of the night over 450m was Camp Fire's 25.59, with his effort rated by this publication at 25.22 or five-and-a-bit lengths quicker than what an expected ‘good' surface would deliver.

Camp Fire's win was made somewhat easier by the late scratching of Joe Borg's Blistered Earth and Awesome Avenger.

Borg sought to scratch both dogs sighting the poor track condition with welfare being foremost in the Maryborough-based trainer's view.

GRV stewards stated: "… the application to withdraw did not fall specifically under the provisions of GAR 76, Stewards opened an inquiry into the withdrawal. Pending the decision or outcome of this inquiry, Stewards direct that Blistered Earth shall not be permitted to compete in or be nominated for any further event in accordance with GAR 169(5). The matter has been referred to the Chief Steward." The exact same oversight metered to Awesome Avenger with the dog's owners on track and also very firm in the view that he did not want his dog to that on that surface.

Awesome Avenger had only just resumed from a hock injury and it was the Borg's view – solely through a welfare lens – that the rising three-year-old should not run on a track he considered to be averse to the dog's best interests.

It's certainly not appropriate that trainers have the prospect of scratching dogs on the day of a meeting when track conditions are not ideal but there needs to be a complete review on how tracks in Victoria are prepared.

And, to that end, communication to all trainers must be explicit and timely (in relation to nominations closing).

Tracks in Victoria (but for Sale) have the benefit of utilising Burrambeet sand so the racing surfaces should have a ‘consistent' look and feel but conditions change from region to region and – clearly – work practices must come under attention.

Harrowing of tracks with rain forecast within just a few days of racing is complete folly.

Stewards inspect tracks and make decisions on safety yet how many stewards have had ‘skin in the game' to know how the surface will impact a dog's performance?

A consideration would be to engage with trainers (of vast experience) to be part of the inspection team and include the track curator(s).

Trial sessions are as important as race days and therein lies another issue … no stewards attend trials and injuries are not constrained to race days!

Injury rates might be down (race days) but soft tissue injuries don't present until the following day and that's something GRV cannot have oversight of but trainers must contend with.

ON THE ROAD

Tom Tzouvelis and training partner Jedda Cutlack have spent more time on the road than at home in the past seven days.

Jedda was at The Gardens' Tuesday trial session and returned home to handle dogs at Albion Park on Wednesday (Eric Thomson Memorial heats) before backing up the next night with seven runners engaged on the 10-race card at Breakfast Creek venue while Tom had headed north to Rockhampton for the Group 2 Cup heats.

On Friday – with Tom resting up in Rocky – Jedda rolled up at Ipswich with That's Hot and Mo'at in QGold heats, with both winning very easily in fast sub-25 second times.

The pair again headed in a different direction on Saturday with Valhalla taking out the inaugural Jack Sommerville Memorial (450m) at Grafton which came with a $50,000 reward while Jedda took the road more frequently travelled to Ipswich with the pair engaged each being placed.

The Grafton win would have been especially rewarding for Tom. He, like so many other trainers, benefitted from the late vet's vast knowledge and his home visits to kennels made life so much easier for participants in South East Queensland and NSW's Northern Rivers.

And when it came to money changing hands, Jack Sommerville was industry respectful.

Only this week, a vet in suburban Sydney wanted to charge me $38 for a topical eye ointment and I declined. Just a few minutes later, the exact same product was purchased (over the counter) at a nearby chemist for just $10 … that would have been Jack's price!

"He was not a money chaser and always asked ‘is that Ok?' when it came to the cost of checking and or veterinary supplies," Tom said.

"Not many vets have the same mindset these days and he will be sorely missed."

Jack's wife Carol came down from Lismore – along with a large family group – and it was icing on the cake that one of Jack's long-term clients snared the $50,000 winner's purse.

NOT FAR AWAY

While the Jack Summerfield is Grafton's richest race over 450m, the upcoming Thunderbolt holds sway as the popular track's richest event.

Vamoose's connections snared $75,000 for his Thunderbolt II win and the series will kick off in early June with qualifying heats around the state – starting with Wagga on May 30 before Gosford, Bulli, Richmond, Dubbo, Goulburn, Gunnedah and concludes with Grafton's heats on June 9.

First and second placegetters from each venue qualify for Grafton's June 16 semi final round.

The series decider (June 22) is a precursor to the club's long-standing Winter Carnival which kicks off on July 7 with the Clarence Valley Sheds Maiden, Sprinters Cup and Stayers' Cup being the big-ticket items.

Bookings for van sites are already being quickly filled and any interstate trainer looking to be part of the best month of racing in NSW should get the red marker out and circle Grafton in July.

PEERLESS

Run of the Year candidature pops up daily yet the offering from Hector Fawley to snare The Sandgroper at Cannington on Thursday was next level remarkable.

The night went off without a hitch (despite the usual protesters populating the front car park) and it was a generous turnout for WA's second biggest night of the year.

In winning by 4-1/4 lengths, Hector Fawley posted the best of the night at 29.42 yet his overall time does not paint a complete picture.

A bird's eye view of HECTOR FAWLEY taking out The Sandgroper. pic.twitter.com/JrrDZ1vcM0

— Greyhounds WA (@greyhounds_wa) April 18, 2024

Just a week earlier, outstanding Victorian Big Energy had his first look at Cannington and posted a sizzling 29.25 – .01 inside Campini's January 2020 record.

His final section in the trial (11.04) was quite stunning given powerhouse Throttle registered 11.14 in a July 30 all-the-way win on the way to posting 29.39.

A Group 1 winner over 600m at The Meadows, Hector Fawley's final section was 10.85 – it's likely that he is the first dog to ever break 11 seconds for the final split at Cannington.