Ray Minty, the renowned trainer who prepared 1990 National Derby winner Master Hilo, declared Billy Buzzard “the perfect Wentworth Park dog” after the 2013 Black Top winner scored his first city win on Saturday night.
Ray, a keen judge, was mightily impressed with the manner in which DAVE Richardson’s greyhound demolished his Australia Day Cup heat opponents.
The dog exploded from box six to lead throughout, recording splits of 5.36, 13.75 and 17.93 before posting 29.91 for the 520m.
“I knew Billy Buzzard would do that as long as he began cleanly from his tricky draw,” DAVE, a retired plasterer, said after the race.
“His first split didn’t surprise me at all because in a trial at Wentworth Park he once clocked 5.27 to the first mark, just 0.01 outside the record.”
Magic Display’s all-the-way win in her heat means another long drive for the greyhound and her trainers Evelyn and Len Harris for this week’s final.
The Harrises train at Whiteman’s Creek, near Grafton, and left home at 7am on Saturday for their 9.27pm Wentworth Park race on Saturday night.
“It took us six hours to get to WYONG where we had a bit of a break and a rest,” Len said.
“When Magic Display ran third at Lismore at her previous start on January 14 her weight had crept up to 25.5 kilograms so maybe Evelyn and I had been a bit too kind with her.
“She is at her best at around the 25 kilogram mark.”
Flaming Frenzy was run down by Zippy Chicki in Saturday’s Sportingbet Free-For-All but her turn back in the winner’s circle is imminent.
Flaming Frenzy was having her first start since injuring her back foot nearly six months ago.
“She hand-slipped well at Richmond leading up to tonight’s race but I was concerned she could get a bit tired at the end of her first hard 520m run in such a long time,” trainer Justin King said later.
“I was rapt in her splits of 5.37, 13.84 and 17.88 so she has obviously come back as good as ever.
“And she loves both Wentworth Park and being drawn out wide.”
Trainer Ray Webster’s co-operation in allowing his dog Jay Bee Rock to be transferred from Saturday’s to Friday’s draw was rewarded when the greyhound collected a $3,500 first prizemoney cheque on Friday night.
Because there was a shortage of nominations for Friday, Ray was asked to start Jay Bee Rock at that meeting, even though he already had Where’s Wob engaged on Saturday.
But making the additional journey from his kennels at Cawdor, near Camden, to Sydney, paid off with Jay Bee Rock scoring what his trainer described as a “fluke win”.
“When I got him out of the car on Friday he seemed reluctant to go into the track or the kennels and was the same on the way to the boxes,” Ray said.
“I mentioned to one of the other trainers in the parade that I thought Jay Bee Rock would run last because he seemed utterly disinterested in racing.
“Yet he won in the slow time of 30.70, and I’ve got to admit it was a very lucky win, a complete fluke.”
And congratulations to Richmond’s new president Ross Burton on landing a winning double at Wentworth Park on Saturday night with Woods and Fancy Rhythm, who each jumped in front and led throughout.
Woods is owned by mining magnate and Segenhoe Stud proprietor Kevin Maloney, who had a dozen thoroughbreds racing on Saturday but whose roots are well and truly in greyhound racing.
Kevin’s late father Joe was a long-time, highly esteemed National Coursing Association committeeman.
See you next week!
