Category: Dogs

Eddie Caruana has seen it all in more than two decades as Chair of the Melbourne Greyhound Racing Association (MGRA). A line from baseball movie Field Of Dreams – “build it and they will come” – is an apt description of Caruana’s tenure. Under the universally respected 75-year-old administrator’s guidance, The Meadows has grown into a world-class venue, home to an incredible 10 Group 1 races, as well as The Phoenix, now the world’s richest greyhound event, growing to $1.65 million total prizemoney in just its second year in 2022.…

Favourite Mortified and trainer/breeder Chris O’Brien are attempting to break a 20-year drought for NSW in Saturday night’s $458,500 Group 1 Sportsbet Australian Cup Final (525m) at The Meadows. Mortified could not have been more impressive in her flying 29.76sec heat victory, leading all-the-way from box eight at her interstate debut, her 12th win from 20 starts. After drawing “nicely” in box two for Saturday night’s $300,000 to-the-winner Cup Final, O’Brien’s homebred daughter of the great Fernando Bale and Banjo Tifia, a G1 Golden Easter Egg finalist in 2019, is…

Victoria’s staying queen Mepunga Ruby is attempting to reign supreme with successive wins in the $160,500 Group 1 Sportsbet Fanta Bale Super Stayers (730m) at The Meadows on Saturday night. And her trainer, Jeff Britton, hinted the 11-time G1 finalist is not ready to abdicate her throne and quite capable of going back-to-back in the $100,000 to-the-winner final – Race 6, 8.22pm. Only one other greyhound – Destini Fireball (2013/2014) has achieved the feat since the inception of the Super Stayers in 1998. Last year, Mepunga Ruby (Mar ’19 Fernando…

The Group 1 ‘drums’ are beating loudly once again for Fernando Mick in the $458,500 Sportsbet Australian Cup final (525m) at The Meadows on Saturday night. Prepared by champion Lara trainer David Geall, Fernando Mick lines up in the $300,000 to-the-winner event – climax of the ‘Unmissable’ Australian Cup Carnival – chasing his second G1 victory, having snared the Hobart Thousand last December. In a memorable win at his 100th start, Fernando Mick toppled Amron Boy – seen as the sport’s monarch in waiting to the world’s highest stakes earning greyhound…

Jihad Talgi’s brave decision to turn down a $100,000 offer for unraced youngster Schillaci was rewarded when the aptly-named excitement machine was a sensational debut winner at Warragul on Sunday night. Talgi named his homebred son of 2020 Melbourne Cup hero Hard Style Rico and Flying Hareeba after the champion grey thoroughbred sprinter of the early ’90s, although it wasn’t the Devon Meadows’ owner/trainer’s first choice. “My favourite horse was Hareeba,” explained Talgi, who combines training a team of four with managing a pizza business. “Hareeba and Schillaci used to…