Making Gravy, bred by Vicki Prest from Young, trained by former Sydneysider AdelePowell and a son of Southern Highlands trainer Ruth Matic's 2015 Wentworth Park Magic Maiden winner Black Bear Lee, has taken the out 147th running of the Victorian Waterloo Cup.
The Cup is held annually at Benalla, Longwood or Lang Lang (this year's venue) and is the oldest greyhound racing contest in Australia.
Greyhounds compete in as many as six match races up the straight over a two day carnival and this year Making Gravy was tackling his fifth "knockout'' competition when he ran down early leader Pure Magic for an easy win in the final.
"Making Gravy could always run but he had trouble handling the turns when he was up in NSW,'' Vicki Prest said.
"He has always been a dead-set straight track dog so running out of the slips up the straight at Lang Lang would have suited him perfectly.''
Now training at Stanhope, between Shepparton and Bendigo, Powell had great success when based in NSW, winning 18 races with Outrageous Angel, who produced crack stayer Just Friend, winner of 11 races in 2007 and 2008 for Powell.
Almost as excited as Powell and Prest was Black Bear Lee's former trainer Ruth Matic, who said: "I am thrilled for Adele and Vicki because I know from experience the Waterloo Cup is awfully hard to win.
"My dog Burj Khalifa made it to the final four a few years ago.''
Burj Khalifa was no slouch up the straight and was the winner of 15 from 28 starts.
NSW-trained greyhounds ran the quinella in the 1970 final at Benalla, when Sir Samson, trained at Carlingford by Jack Cook, toppled Lord Gemini, from John Munro's Box Hill (Sydney) kennels.
There was also a strong NSW flavour about the Victorian Greyhound Of The Year award, taken out last weekend by Whiskey Riot.
A half brother to 2018 Million Dollar Chase winner Mystic Riot, Whiskey Riot is owned by Sydney plumber Colin Bermingham and his wife Sandra, and is trained by former NSW trainer Anthony Azzopardi.
In 2019 Whiskey Riot won the group 1 Melbourne Cup and Temlee double, an effort which also earned him the Sprinter Of The Year title at the awards presentation.
Jack Savaglia went within an ace of notching a rare dual code group race double last weekend, with his racehorse Behemoth winning the group 1 Memsie Stakes at Caulfield last Saturday, less than 24 hours after his greyhound Lightning VISION finished third in the group 3 Sires On Ice Black Top at LADBROKES GARDENS.
Savaglia, an Adelaide-based businessman, landed the quinella in the Caulfield race with Mr Quickie, another of his thoroughbred team, finishing second.
Lightning VISION, who is trained by Neil Staines at Yass, has won 14 of 34 races and earned more than $53,000.
Robert Jones, another prominent thoroughbred owner, tasted greyhound racing success last Saturday night when Midnight Escape, trained by Sid Swain, won a 520m maiden event at WP in a slick 29.94.
Jones, from Sydney's outer west, is well established in greyhound racing, having raced Buck's Future and Watch The Wasp, who, between them, have had two dozen wins and earned $270,000 prizemoney.
Little Digger, half-brother of Feral Franky, has been retired just two months short of his fifth birthday.
Like The Feral, Little Digger was trained by Jack Smith at FORBES, and while not in the same league as his all-conquering brother, he was certainly no slouch.
Little Digger was equally at home over 520m and 720m and retires with 29 wins and 14 placings from 95 starts, earning $166,000 for owner Lyndall McIntyre.
"He will now spend his days in the sun on our Londonderry property,'' McIntyre said.
