Tom’s Desire impressed trainer Peter Sims so much with his first-up Wentworth Park win last Friday the dog is off to Melbourne to tackle the Group 2 Launching Pad heats at Sandown on March 15.
Tom's Desire, a relatively new acquisition to Sims' kennels at Illabo, near Wagga, took his record to six wins and three seconds from 10 starts with his best time of the meeting performance at Wentworth Park.
After being fourth at the first turn and second on the back straight, Tom's Desire took the lead coming to the home bend before bolting away to win by 10 lengths in 30.12, running home in a slick 11.89.
"He had not been out of the 520m boxes at Wenty but I had given him a post-to-post slip there a few weeks back,'' Sims said.
"He clocked 24.67 when the best of the other trials was around 25.10.
"And Tom's Desire improves out of sight with a couple of looks at a track, so he can definitely get better at Wentworth Park.
"I educated the greyhound for his previous owner and I liked the way Tom's Desire kept improving during the breaking-in course.
"I plan to take him to Melbourne for a couple of trials at Sandown and if he shapes up as well as I expect him to, he will be in the Launching Pad heats.''
The 515m Sandown Launching Pad semi-finals are on March 22 with the $150,000 to the winner final a week later.
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Sydney-owned Dusty Gambler has made a sensation start to his NEW ZEALAND with a track record smashing effort at Waikato.
Formerly with Seona Thompson in Melbourne but owned by Sydney breeder Diane Stollery, Dusty Gambler won over 650m in 36.98, scoring by 11 lengths after being sent out a $1.30 favourite.
Dusty Gambler won six of 20 Australian races but Thompson advised Stollery the dog would be better suited in NZ and recommended that the greyhound be transferred to Karen Walsh.
One of the Shaky Isles' leading trainers of stayers, Walsh enjoyed success at Wentworth Park when she took out the 2012 Chairman's Cup at Wentworth Park with Know Peace.
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Beverley Sloan, who landed her first Wentworth Park double as a trainer last Friday, says she was "born into'' greyhound racing.
Sloan began training 47 years ago and had a field day on Friday, winning with Exhibit Aye and Oriole, finishing second with Demelza and Teevee Roscoe, and picking up a third placing with Silver Peg.
"I know it was only a TABC meeting but it was still great to have such a good day at Wentworth Park,'' Sloan said.
"I took six greyhounds to Wenty and the only one to miss a place was Adalind, who is probably the quickest of them all.
"I was especially pleased with Demelza's second in a 520m race before she had to come from well back and had rung up six thirds in 19 previous Wentworth Park races.
"When I was a high school student my family lived at Lake Illawarra and our next door neighbour was Neville Ballinger, NSW's leading trainer.
"My father Bob Sloan ran the local newsagency and he had a couple of greyhounds while Neville, who owned a boarding house, was a legend in the sport.''
Indeed he was as Ballinger won the 1969 National Distance Championship with Amerigo Lady, the 1967 Melbourne Cup with Swan Opal, the 1968 Vic Peters Classic with Sammie Sparrow, and the 1968 Hobart Thousand with Sue Narila.
