For the first time since its inception in 2003, the Gosford Greyhound Racing Club’s premier event, will have a new naming rights’ sponsor in 2022, with the race to be now known as the Beast Unleashed Gosford Gold Cup.
A long-time supporter of the Gosford club, leading trainer Peter Lagogiane and his wife JODIE, along with Dawn Garrett who part-owns the 2019 Gold Cup winner, have taken over sponsorship of the club’s flagship event, which will now be named after their stud dog and former Gosford track record holder, Beast Unleashed.
It will be the first time since the annual feature was introduced on Gosford’s then new loam track back in 2003, that the Group 2 Gold Cup will not carry the sponsorship of local company Woy Woy Poultry Supplies and its owner Laurie Refalo.
“We want to genuinely thank and acknowledge everything that Laurie Refalo has done - not only for our feature event - but for greyhound racing here at Gosford and on the Central Coast,” Acting Manager of the Gosford Club, Kristy Harper said.
“Woy Woy Poultry has been synonymous with the Gold Cup for almost 20 years, and to have such loyalty and commitment from a sponsor is not only rare in racing, but in any sport.
“We understand and respect that Laurie has made his decision, but he will always be a part of our family, we hope he continues to be a regular trackside and we plan to maintain the Woy Woy Poultry signage at our track.
“We are very fortunate to have been able to secure Beast Unleashed as our new Cup sponsor and I thank Peter, JODIE and Dawn for their unwavering support which has seen Beast Unleashed as a finish post sponsor for the past three years, and Peter and JODIE contribute to the building of the recently launched Beast Unleashed Deck at the track.”
Peter Lagogiane conceded the Gosford track has been special to him over the years, with a premiership victory and several memorable feature race successes. But he and JODIE wanted to give something back and they saw this as a perfect opportunity to do just that.
“Gosford has been a very special track for me over the years and among those memorable moments was Beast Unleashed becoming the first dog to break 29s there, and then to win the Woy Woy Poultry Gosford Gold Cup (pictured),” he said.
“JODIE and I have been very fortunate in this sport, and we both felt it would be great to give something back to an industry that has been so good to us.
“Laurie has been like a family member to me. I have known him for many, many years ever since I started in the dogs, his advice has been invaluable, and what he has done for this club, and this race in particular, should never be underestimated.”
While he rarely missed a Tuesday night at Gosford and was proud of his sponsorship of the Cup, Laurie Refalo said that after consideration, and with growing business and personal commitments away from racing, he decided to “give someone else a go.”
“I used to be a sponsor at Gosford back when it was a grass track,” Laurie recalled. “It truly has been great to be a part of the club’s feature race for all these years, but I’m 78 now, I’m still working 14-15 hours a day, and my wife has been sick, so I just thought it was the time to step away and give someone else a go.”
Heats of the Beast Unleashed Gosford Gold Cup will be conducted on December 28, with the $40,000 final on January 4, 2022.
