It sure was an entirely appropriate call when the name ‘The Amazing Chase” was selected for the Kiwi version of two dog match racing. Last Friday’s Formpro Amazing Chase match ups saw Bigtime Paddy deliver an amazing effort to convincingly take the 520m time honours at the Hatrick Raceway.
They’re chasing after Group race success on the World’s southernmost located greyhound track in Invercargill on the final day of the New Zealand 2017/18 racing season with the $15,825 Far South Challenge (race 7) being decided over 457m.
Who can ever forget last year’s enthralling finish to the inaugural running of the Formpro Amazing Chase? Just 200th of a second separated the first three greyhounds with the winning time being clocked in the fourth and final 527m match at the Manukau Stadium.
The amazing chasing action at the Hatrick Raceway on Friday evening will continue just under an hour after the $60,000 Formpro Amazing Chase has been decided with the inaugural running of the $10,000 Visit Wanganui Amazing Chase Consolation.
Feature racing for the Christchurch GRC 2017/18 racing season wraps up at the Addington Raceway on Thursday evening where two $7,500 Restricted Age finals will be contested over 520m. The meeting also features a $25,000 terminating TAB Pick6.
It was a hugely successful afternoon of chasing action at the Cambridge Raceway last Thursday for Drury trainer Ben Craik, along for his wife Barbara and daughters Lisa and Tracy.
The Formpro Amazing Chase qualifying process concluded on Sunday in keeping with the enthralling action packed month long qualifying period witnessed with the final automatic field position having to be decided by a ballot.
Amazing chasing action sums up the past week of Formpro Amazing Chase qualifying with final field leader board changes occurring at all three qualifying venues.
The Opawa Racing team were expected to pick up a major slice of the Breeders’ bonus dollars attached to Tuesday’s running of the Southland hosted $7,340 NZRS Novice final. They did – although probably not in the race finish order that most had predicted.
It’s a strong wrap to the 2017/18 racing season in the deep south with the Southland GRC hosting a competitive looking $7,340 NZRS Novice 457m final on Tuesday,
Bigtime Paddy has been in super season long form and that factor was strongly illustrated in the professional manner that the Lisa Cole mentored greyhound delivered his 29.99s 520m NZRS Advanced victory at the Hatrick Raceway on Friday evening.
It certainly isn’t a surprise to see the Lisa Cole kennels providing nine of the ten listed runners for Friday’s $11,470 NZRS Advanced final. Her locally bred kennel runners dominated the two 520m heats held last Friday.
Late week and weekend racing action saw significant changes occurring at the top of the leaderboards at all three Formpro Amazing Chase qualifying venues.
Thursday’s Cambridge hosted $7,340 NZRS Novice final was a victory for the small time breeders – actually very small time. It was also the result of an unplanned mating.
Sensational! On a cold winter afternoon Craig Roberts produced his classy greyhound Dyna Dave to lower the long standing Addington 520m track record when he recorded a slick 29.75s gallop.
The qualifying process for the Frompro Amazing Chase series is underway with 15 of the nominated greyhounds having posted official times at the three qualifying venues. Numerous more greyhounds can be expected to appear on the three track leaderboards following this weekend’s racing.
Either Thrilling Carly or Thrilling Talk will lose their unbeaten race record at the Cambridge Raceway on Thursday evening – that is unless there is a kennel dead heat.
“The South Island Champs has always been a special race for us with it being the first Group race we trained the winner off,” commented co-trainer Jean Fahey who with husband Dave mentored their ninth Barron’s South Island Championship winner when Fair Pippa
