When Tarpeena owner Malcolm Keenan ventured out to David Peckham’s Allendale East kennels back in mid-2020 to select a pup from the My Redeemer x Raz’s Girl litter it was always going to be a blue dog – the only one of that colour in the litter.

After being reared by Peckham, the youngster found his way to Bendigo to be broken-in.

Later, he was transferred to Portland where Nicole Stanley and Nifty Lenehan took over the training of the September 2020 whelping.

Keenan said the reports emanating out of Mannings breaking-in establishment and later from Portland had suggested the blue dog might have some ability.

“The breaking-in report suggested he would make the grade,” Keenan said.

“And Nicole and Nifty had always maintained he could run a bit – perhaps vindicated by a very quick trial over 305 metres at Mount Gambier.

“We named him Master Shameem, however after winning his maiden at his second start at Tara Raceway he was having no luck in his races and displaying very little field sense.”

By the time the New Year came around, though, it did appear as though Master Shameem could at last be starting to sort himself out.

Overcoming a slow start in a heat of the Fast Forward (400 metres) at Tara Raceway on January 5 he finished strongly in the home straight to defeat Cadillac Star in 23.21 seconds – easily quick enough to make it through to the fastest eight final.

Then, in the Category 2 prize money final last Thursday, Master Shameem quickly put himself in the race from box one before rounding up Aussie Showgirl off the back and running out a 3¼ length winner in a personal best time of 23.02 seconds.

Keenan’s first winner was back in August 2013 when Bahama Sixty One, trained by Ralph Patzel, defeated Robert Chuck’s Galactic Chaos in a 512 metre maiden at Tara Raceway in a time of 30.95 seconds.

By Vapour Whirl, Bahama Sixty One was out of Miss Carla who traced back to the Lenehan family’s foundation bitch Sydney Gem.

It would be six years before Keenan won another race, this time at Tara Raceway over 400 metres with the speedy Keen One, a son of Dyna Villa and Precious Prize who won three races up the straight at Healesville.

“At the end of 2017 we had gone over to Bendigo to have a look at the litter and Ralph actually picked out a black dog pup that I later named Keen One,” Keenan recalled.

“The pup was left there for rearing before returning to Mount Gambier where he was initially trained by Dita Mitchell and later David Peckham for a total of 13 wins.”


Participants to receive $1m industry paymen

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Strong wagering revenue for the 2022 calendar year has resulted in Greyhound Racing SA (GRSA) announcing that a $1m Industry Performance Reward Payment (IPRP) will be made to participants on January 30, 2023.

The payment comes on the back of the recently announced 7.5% increase in prize money from January 1, 2023.

“This one-off payment reflects another strong year of wagering activity and is designed to maximise those returns to our industry,” GRSA Chair Grantley Stevens said.

He said GRSA expected wagering to re-calibrate lower in 2023 and beyond as punters navigate the rising cost of living and re-prioritise their expenditure.

“Our recently announced increase in base prize money across the state was designed to rebuild a foundation for participants.

“This will provide greater certainty as we navigate a new normal that will likely see fewer of these additional payments generated.

“IPRPs are an additional form of stake money on top of this base level but should be treated in the same way – that is, distributed accordingly between trainers and owners.”

The IPRP will be distributed in direct proportion with Wagering Activity Payment (WAP) distributions across the 12 months spanning January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022.