Albion Park wasn’t the only venue where greyhounds could be seen last Sunday.
Greyhounds were on display at the nearby Showgrounds during Brisbane’s famous ‘’Ekka.’’
There has been a greyhound section at the Brisbane Show for about 15 years, started by the late Ray Underwood, a committeeman of the Brisbane G.R.C. and member of the Canine Council of Australia.
This year, the format was changed to be restricted purely to racing greyhounds rather than greyhounds bred for show purposes.
Called the ‘’Greyhound Sweepstakes,’’ record prizemoney attracted a record number of entries. There were ten classes catering for young pups through to the retired racers. The greyhounds were on display for their looks and confirmation, rather than their speed.
The Queensland Greyhound, Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association and Racing Queensland Limited were the major sponsors.
‘’Our Association has worked hard for about four months leading to the Show. The people participating were very happy with the level of prizemoney on offer of $3,000. The Association’s total outlay was $6,000,’’ QGBOTA president Stephanie Houghton said.
Di O’Donnell of Dinky Di Web Design took on the role of honorary publicity officer for the greyhound competition. One of her many duties on the day was to hand out sample bags to all participants. These contained a show lead, water bowl, some treats, Big Dog products, a souvenir cap and other sponsor donated items.As well as RQL and the QGBOTA, sponsors on the day included Chairs With Flair, Fran Forbes, Helen Sant, Gold Coast Greyhound Racing Club, Pat Marchant, Stephanie Houghton, justgreyhoundphotos.com, Dinky Di web Design, Grey Care, City Farmers and Big Dog racing supplements.
The ‘’Best of Breed,’’ or champion of the Show, was ‘’Clarkie’’ who was exhibited by Kelly Anderson in the junior dogs 12 to 18 months category. The dog is by Superman out of Swift Azz.
In the puppies 6 to 12 months, the winner was a Fear Zafonic – Smashing Lady pup named ‘’Quinn’’ for Jason Bloomfield.
The Open dogs over 18 months went to Dual Connection (Dual Enforcer – I’m Not Blue) for Cliff Houston.
In the Dogs over 4 years section, the winner was English import Westmead Osprey, for Nina and Dennis Uhrhane. The son of Westmead Hawk won 34 races in the United Kingdom, including two track records. But it wasn’t his race record that impressed chief judge Ted Pickering. In fact, race records were of no consequence for any competitors. Pickering was looking at build, conformation and balance in all the greyhounds paraded for his consideration.
The Puppy bitches award went to ‘’Zed’’ for Tony Vohland. The pup is by Dual Enforcer out of Howie’s Gemma.
Kelly Anderson won the junior bitches with ‘’Squishy,’’ by Mantra Lad out of Petite Tory.
The Open bitches over 18 months went to Even Burn (Paddy’s Flame – Street Level) for Samantha Bloomfield
The Veteran bitches winner was Chasin’ Chloe (Go Forever – Dynamic Princess) for Jasen Woods. Chasin’ Chloe also took out champion bitch of the entire Show.
The Neutered dogs of any age saw Nina Uhrhane’s Bethanga (November Gandhi – Arctic Sky) take first prize,
The Neutered bitches of any age went to Conman which is certainly an unusual name for a female greyhound! By Elite State out of Chloe’s War, Troy England was the exhibitor.
RNA Councillor in Charge Lionel Blumel applauded the efforts of the greyhound breeders, owners and trainers who supported the competition.
‘’The record number of entries was fantastic. The efforts of Stephanie Houghton and her QGBOTA committee were well rewarded and I hope there’s even more entries next year. The RNA will certainly be welcoming the greyhounds back here,’’ Blumel said.
Houghton commended the RNA. ‘’The stewards and judges kept the process running smoothly, it was very professionally handled,’’ she said.
Story by Paul Dolan. Photo by Rick O’Donnell shows:. Judge Ted Pickering, Kelly Anderson with Best of Breed ‘’Blackie,’’ Jasen Woods with champion bitch ‘’Chasin’ Chloe.’’
