Category: Dogs

Successful Newport breeder Jarrod Sharp doesn’t try to hide his pride, admiration – and most of all – affection for his grand producer Cosmic Owl, which recently celebrated an incredible milestone. When youngster Façade was victorious at Geelong on Anzac Day, she was her mother’s 100th winner. Then at last Friday night’s Sandown Cup meeting, Departed, another member of Cosmic Owl’s fourth and final litter to former WA superstar Tommy Shelby, completed an emphatic clean sweep of the rich Vic Bred Maiden series with a dominant 29.52sec victory. Departed is…

This year’s National Coursing Association of Victoria coursing season will be one of commemoration – a sesquicentennial anniversary (1873-2023) highlighted by the 150th Waterloo Cup, to be staged at Lang Lang on August 20 & 27. So, it’s fitting contemporary ‘coursing king’ He’s No Slouch holds court at Lang Lang on Sunday – exactly 150 years to the day of the first-ever coursing meeting at Sunbury. The reigning Waterloo Cup monarch commences a ‘tour’ to ultimately defend his crown. (The Waterloo Cup – coursing’s ‘Holy Grail’ – was first conducted…

The $270,500 Sportsbet Group 1 Sandown Cup (715m) – Australia’s most prestigious staying event – was billed as a ‘Battle of Britton’ and it went according to script… Well, if you heeded heat times last week! But this time it was younger brother Jeff, who upstaged his older sibling, Rob, in taking out a $175,000 first prize with Korda. Rob was chasing his third victory in Sandown GRC’s staying flagship, having won with superstars Fanta Bale (2017) and Tornado Tears (2018). However, Jeff shattered his Sandown Cup ‘hoodoo’ to claim…

Three-time Group 1 winner Jarick Bale is a stayer in every sense of the word. On Saturday night at The Meadows, the reigning Victorian Stayer of the Year will celebrate his 100th start milestone; however, there’s every chance a kennelmate will crash the veteran superstar’s party. Jarick Bale, trained by 2022 Melbourne Cup winner Mark Delbridge and wife Lisa, has won 36 of his 99 starts – an impressive 36 percent strike rate – however Saturday night’s 525m assignment is well short of his preferred journeys. Just on one year…

The tight-knit Gippsland greyhound racing fraternity is mourning the passing of popular hobby trainer James (Jim) Harrington. Harrington, 64, suffered a medical incident at the Warragul race meeting on May 18. A father of five, Harrington combined greyhound racing with a role as a farm manager in Madayla after moving to Alberton (7km from Yarram) around 20 years ago. He trained his first-ever winner, Slade Runner (pictured), at Healesville on December 19, 2009. “Dad owned a general store/post office in Mitta Mitta, an hour from Wodonga, when we were kids,”…

Aaron Debattista and Mission Oasis were the big winners at the 2022 Shepparton GRC awards function held last Saturday night. Debattista was crowned Trainer of the Year, while his track specialist Mission Oasis was anointed Greyhound of the Year. Debattista, who’s based at Toolleen, prepared 51 winners at Shepparton last year, along with 50 second placegetters and 33 thirds, to claim the award for the second time, having previously been successful in 2019, with the late Tony Duncan securing the 2020-21 titles. “I had a good year at Shepp; I…

A heavyweight duel between superstars Amron Boy and Kelsey Bale in the $14,250 Group 3 Bill Collins Showdown (515m) will provide a mouth-watering entrée to Friday night’s G1 Sportsbet Sandown Cup main course. Amron Boy (box 3) is a clear-cut $1.40 favourite over Kelsey Bale (box 1) at $2.90 in Sportsbet’s market on the Showdown (race 7, 9.08pm). Trained by Jamie and Brooke Ennis, Amron Boy was a brilliant 29.13sec winner of the G1 Harrison-Dawson at Sandown Park last Thursday, while country cups ‘Queen’ Kelsey Bale, prepared by Danny Gibbons,…