People attending last night’s
Grafton greyhound meeting, or watching on Sky Racing, could be forgiven for
thinking the racing was at Albion Park.
Queensland
trained runners won five of the ten races. And the Stayers Cup over 610 metres
saw He Knows Uno (pictured), recent victor in the Albion Park Gold Cup and
Super Stayers Invitational, break the track record.
Michael
and Lillian Patterson’s He Knows Uno was the odds on favourite for the staying
feature. A noted backmarker in helter skelter sprint races, He Knows Uno has
been able to position himself more forward in the early stages of recent
staying events, then prove too strong. That happened again last night.
The
son of Primo Uno and Honeymoon’s Over scored by five and a half lengths from Queenslanders
Time Will Tell for Tony Brett and Paul Cauchi’s Lady Tycoon.
Mick
Patterson is more than comfortable with the ‘’adopted Queenslander’’ tag for
himself and his star greyhound, as they have enjoyed tremendous success at Albion
Park and Ipswich.
But living at the northern New South Wales
coastal fishing village of Iluka,
Grafton is the nearest track. After He Knows Uno’s recent stunning successes at
Albion Park,
Patterson pledged to run the dog at Grafton. He was stunned by the rousing
reception given to the dog last night at the presentation of the Stayers Cup
trophy.
Patterson hasn’t fully
committed to a start in next month’s National Distance Championship series.
‘’The
heats are at Bulli which is about a ten hours drive, each way, from Iluka,’’ he
said.
‘’I
have no problem with the dog handling Bulli, he ran second in the Gold Plate
there. But if he got through at Bulli to represent New
South Wales in the grand final, that’s in Hobart.
The dog would need a trial there, meaning a special trip to Hobart
and back. Logistically, it’s all pretty tricky.’’
The
Queensland juggernaut at Grafton
last night commenced with Paul Cauchi winning race two, a 480 metres maiden,
with Alex the Great.
The
Gold Coast’s Dave Irwin won race three, a 610 metres fifth grade final, with
Bralyn Nicky. Irwin completed a double when Scissor Queen won the Sprinters Cup
over 407 metres.
Reg
Kay from Lowood took out the feature race of the entire Grafton carnival, the
$12,000 to the winner Taylor Family Maiden Classic, when Wong Way Susie led
most of the way from box one. Jetta’s Girl for Tony Brett finished second, with
Reg Kay’s Go Teddy Size making it an all Queensland
finish by running third.
Kay
won the Grafton Maiden Classic last year with Knocka Down. That dog won the final
race last night, an Open Stake over 480 metres.
Wong
Way Susie is a member of an impressive litter, by Bombastic Shiraz out of
Futurity winner Elite Oriental. The litter includes the well performed Ima
Geisha Girl who Kay sent to Victoria
to be trained by Jason Thompson.
Last
night in Rockhampton, Star Pupil won the main event over 510 metres. The dog is
owned by racecaller Liam Mulry and trained by Bill Boon at Springsure.
Mulry
admits to nerves before he calls Star Pupil. He had little cause for concern
last night. The dog sat second before taking control at about the half way.
When
Mulry takes a night off the racecalling duties, his able deputy, Brian Cox,
steps up to the microphone.
Last
night, Cox’s 19 years old son Mitchell trained a winner, landing the fourth
race with Top Brand.
Story by Paul Dolan, photo by Corey
Pearce.
