Lektra Trigger fires off a cup warning - Mount Gambier Week in Review
Lektra Trigger fires off a cup warning
Lektra Trigger’s smart win over litter sister Lektra Abbi in last Sunday’s Todd’s Photographics Stake (512 metres) at Tara Raceway now has owner-trainer Phil Lenehan weighing up his options for the Cadillac Racing Mount Gambier Cup.
Away well from box four, Lektra Trigger settled in second spot behind his sister before taking up the running turning for home and finishing strongly for a 3¼ length win in an equal best of the day 29.59 seconds.
By Fernando Bale, the pair is out of eight-race winner Lektra Perry, a daughter of Destini Fireball and Lektra Angie – also the dam of Lektra Stomp, runner-up for Lenehan in the 2018 Mount Gambier Cup.
“The Mount Gambier Cup is a race I would love to win given that the line of Lektra Trigger traces back to Immortal Flash who won the cup in 1993 out at Glenburnie for my father, Brian,” said the Toolong-based Lenehan.
“From a cup point of view, Lektra Trigger is very young and inexperienced, being a rising two-year-old and with only eight races to his name. But I thought he looked pretty good and was pleasantly surprised by the time he ran.”
Aston Kalkara kept his Mount Gambier Cup hopes alive with another outstanding win in the Cadillac Racing Mixed Stake (512 m) for owner Ray Borda and Dennington trainer Dustin Drew.
Well back early, the son of Aston Kimetto and Aston Upton maintained his unbeaten record at the track when storming home for his third win. On the line he had two lengths to spare over recent Murray Bridge Cup finalist Federal Flash in 29.59 seconds.
“He spent quite a bit of time off the scene during the latter part of last year,” Drew said. “But I believe he’s now starting to get back to the sort of form that saw him reach the Warrnambool Cup final 12 months ago.”
And following another impressive performance at Tara Raceway, Southern Cross owner-trainer Garry Elliott is now seriously considering a run in the cup with Lightning Pest.
The daughter of Lightning Frank and Rixy Ya Pest virtually led all the way in the Williams Crane Hire Stake (512 m) when defeating Rough Boy Devil by 8¾ lengths in 29.66 seconds.
“To be honest, the Mount Gambier Cup had never really been a consideration for her,” said Elliott when asked about the cup. “But the way she’s racing here at the moment I reckon Lightning Pest has probably done enough to warrant a nomination.”
Heats of the Cadillac Racing Mount Gambier Cup (512 m) will be run at Tara Raceway on Sunday, April 7. The $36,000 Group 3 final will be conducted the following Sunday.
On the Friday prior to the cup heats (April 5) will be the Calcutta. Set down for a 6 p.m. start at Tara Raceway, tickets will be on sale at $1 each or $80 for 100. Barbecue and salad meals will be available with the Calcutta auction commencing at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, Eureka Robbie’s win in the Swallow Drive Meats Mixed Stake (512 m) was Woolsthorpe trainer Kurt Howard’s first Tara Raceway winner since Capra more than 12 months ago.
Owned at Allansford by Jacob Rea, the son of Allen Deed and Flo Lava had plenty of ground to make up early before rounding up the field off the back and powering away to a 6¾ length win over Bungaloo Bruiser in 30.50 seconds.
For Rea, the win was his first after he had gone in partnership with Howard who also bred the litter.
“We both reared our share of the litter before breaking them in together,” said Howard. “I’m now looking to prepare Eureka Robbie for a 650 metres at Warrnambool. I believe he has all the makings of a handy stayer.”
These days Howard is kept pretty busy, the 28-year-old working full-time as a carpenter and also looking after six greyhounds on his two-acre property.
Another son of Allen Deed to win on the day was Smart Operator. He led all the way in the Klaassens Contractors Stake (400 m) when defeating Huntsman by three-quarters of a length in 23.00 seconds for Penshurst owner-trainer John Cameron.
And for Cameron, his last win at Tara Raceway also had been 12 months ago with Agnes.
His involvement with the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club goes back a number of years – Camo’s Lucky winning the first Newman McDonnell Memorial to be run at a TAB meeting at Tara Raceway in 2012.
Sweet win came as no surprise
Racing was off to a flying start at last Thursday’s Mount Gambier time-graded meeting at Tara Raceway when maiden greyhound Sweet Secret opened her winning account in the Klaassens Contractors Stake over 305 metres.
Owned and trained at Southern Cross by Ray Mahony, Sweet Secret led all the way from box four when defeating Bounce To Burn by 7½ lengths in 17.41 seconds.
The win was the first at Tara Raceway for Mahony – involved in the game for more than 50 years – since Fend Them Off in August last year.
Sweet Secret’s was a quick run given the track record is 17.28 seconds and Aston Olenna had been one of the quickest maiden winners with a time of 17.49 seconds recorded back in early 2021
.
By US sire SH Avatar, Sweet Secret is out of seven-race winner Zipping Tatum and was bred at Seaspray by Sue Boreland who had previously sold pups to Mahony.
“Actually, I had been down on numbers a bit when Sue rang back in August. She asked me if I would be interested in this giveaway dark brindle bitch who had raced just the once back in July when she had run seventh at Warragul,” he said.
“Sweet Secret had her first run for me at Warrnambool in November when running a good second. Then at her next start, at the same track, she pulled up.
“So it was back to the drawing board and I decided to trial her behind the finish-on-lure here at Mount Gambier. And while she’s still a work in progress, a couple of her trials in 17.50 seconds and 22.80 seconds (400 m) suggested she was ready to win a race.”
For Murtoa owner-trainer Josh McDonald it was a case of being in the right place at the right time when it came to Aphrodite Sally.
In McDonald’s kennels for only a week, the daughter of Out Of Range and Crimson Sally settled in third spot from box two in the Greg Martlew Autos TG1-4W Stake (400 m) before finding the front turning for home.
And having her first run at the track over the short course, the blue brindle bitch finished off the race nicely for a two length win over Cadillac Gas in 23.51 seconds.
“Jack Trengove had been here last week with Aphrodite Sally for Don Turner,” McDonald said. “And after she had run fourth over 512 metres he mentioned Don was looking to give her away if I was interested.
“I told Jack that I would give the offer a miss but as I was travelling home I decided maybe I could do worse and wouldn’t mind having a go with her. So I rang Jack, confirmed that he would be coming through Penola and picked her up there.”
In Canya Catch Me, Compton trainer Tracie Price, following the running of the Cadillac Racing TG5+W Stake (512 m), could have yet another Mount Gambier Cup contender.
A winner of five races at Maitland and Goulburn and up the straight at Richmond, the son of Barcia Bale and Spritley Ebony opened his winning account at Tara Raceway in the Cadillac Racing TG5+W Stake.
Leading all the way from box one, Canya Catch Me scored a comfortable 5½ length win over Pat The Rat in a best of day time of 29.65 seconds.
“I was certainly pretty happy with the run and from a Mount Gambier Cup point of view we’ll certainly be giving the event plenty of consideration,” Price said.
And Edenhope trainer Cap Abbott finally broke through for a win with Argyle Kinloch in the Carlin & Gazzard TG1-4W Stake (400 m).
Purchased by Abbott at the end of last year, the daughter of Kinloch Brae and Zita defeated Mr. Flash by 2¼ lengths in what was a stylish win in 23.13 seconds.
“It’s taken a while for her to find form,” Abbott said. “But having won a couple of 500 metre races at Bendigo last year I reckon the time is probably right to step her up in distance.”
This week’s Fast Forward TG1-4W final (512 m) should be an interesting affair with Sweet Lynette and Burn The Bend fighting out the first heat in 30.14.
And in the second heat, the Lenehan Lektra dominance spilt over into the time-graded meeting when Lektra Lyanna defeated Blue Phoenix by three lengths in 29.99 seconds.
Celebrating 100 starts with another win
The highlight of last Sunday’s meeting at Tara Raceway for Moorak training team Melissa Freitag and Jason Newman, along with the Lain Beckett-managed Yeah Nah Syndicate, was undoubtedly Nitrogen Outlaw’s win in the Williams Crane Hire Open Stake (400 metres).
Having his 100th race start, the rising four-year-old son of Aston Dee Bee and Fantasy Skye celebrated the occasion with an all the way four length win over Pursuit in a time of 23.05 seconds.
He’s now won 27 races – 19 of those at Mount Gambier, Angle Park and Gawler since being purchased by the syndicate from the Inguanti family of Camperdown in September 2022.
In the previous race, the Metal Worx Stake (400 m), the Yeah Nah Syndicate and Newman – who won the 2022 Mount Gambier Cup with Departure Gate – combined again, this time for a win on debut at Tara Raceway with Come On Kilkenny.
Away fairly from box one, the son of Fernando Bale and Naughty Cazza chased kennelmate Space Cadet until off the back where he took over the running before going on to a 1¾ length win in 23.08 seconds.
The win came only two days after Come On Kilkenny had run second to Boots over 400 metres at Gawler in a heat of an SA-owned 400 metre event in a quick 22.30 seconds.
And in the final race, the Gambier Vets Stake (512 m), Purified, a daughter of Fernando Bale and Mepunga Spectre, was also making her debut at Tara Raceway for Newman.
Raced by Adelaide owner Lena Dureikina, Purified went into the grade five event having won six races at The Meadows, Sandown Park, Horsham, Geelong and Angle Park. She had also run third in last year’s Group 3 SA Oaks (530 m) at Angle Park.
However, along the way the white and black bitch had fallen foul of stewards on several occasions. As a result Newman had opted to try the blinkers on her.
Now, sometimes a blinkered muzzle works, sometimes it has little effect. In the case of Purified, though, she virtually led all the way when running out a three length winner over Saint Tommy in 29.90 seconds.
Following the abandonment of nine races at the previous Sunday meeting, the Tara Tipsters Cup was run as a grade 6 event over 512 metres.
And it was In The Bug, chasing his first win since last October when successful over 600 metres at Tara Raceway, who defied the opposition to run him down when holding out Ruby Rhode for a three-quarter length win in 29.81 seconds.
The win by the son of My Redeemer and Miss City Girl was one of three winners for leading trainer Tracie Price who had also been successful with Barra Banjo in the Exchange Printers Stake (400 m) and Compton Kelly in the Commercial Hotel Stake (400 m).
Meanwhile, the Connie Miller Memorial, for grade five greyhounds, will be run at Tara Raceway over 512 metres on Sunday, March 31.
The memorial will be a lead-in to the April 7 Cadillac Racing Mount Gambier Cup heats. Quite fitting, it could be said, given that she is still the only trainer to have won the cup on consecutive occasions – in 1987 with Durafi and the following year with Mitchell Boy.
In 1983-1984 Connie assumed the role of secretary of the South East Greyhound Racing Club which later became the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing & Coursing Club Inc. And with the exception of 1996-1997, she remained secretary until 2002-2003.