Edenhope owner-trainer Kerry Hawker landed her second double this year when Cadillac Bullet and Cadillac Lloyd were successful at last Thursday’s time-graded greyhound meeting at Tara Raceway.
Her previous double had been back on June 12 when Kerry’s Cadillac and Cadillac Bullet had both won their maidens over 305 metres at a Sunday Category 2 meeting.
And at last Thursday’s meeting Cadillac Bullet was still chasing his second win when lining up from box seven in the Hyland Fox Stake (1-4 wins) over 400 metres.
By the SA-bred Group 1-winning Sennachie (Fernando Bale x Rhonda Rocks), Cadillac Bullet never looked like being beaten after taking an early lead and running out a four length winner over Rocky Cadillac in 23.79 seconds.
Cadillac Lloyd overcame a slow start from box four in the Gordon Refrigeration Stake (400 m).
And after settling on the rails he found the front before hanging on for a length win over Mocambora Bella in 23.65 seconds.
By Fernando Bale, Cadillac Lloyd, also now a winner of two races, is out of Pamela Rocks, a half-sister to Rhonda Rocks.
For Hawker, last Thursday’s double wrapped up a pretty good week for her after rising four-year-old Nero Valentino had scored a top win at the previous Sunday meeting when leading all the way in the Greg Martlew Autos Open Stake (400 m).
Nero Valentino, formerly trained by Hawker’s partner, Cap Abbott, won his maiden as a $30 chance in July last year.
All told, he’s now won 16 races with Hawker purchasing the son of Fernando Bale x Sweet Barbados in June this year.
“The owners, Gary and Phil Micallef, were looking to move him on and at an asking price of $2000 I thought he was probably a reasonable buy,” she said.
“He continues to race well and has certainly repaid his purchase price.”
Joining Hawker with doubles on the day were other Tara Raceway regulars Jason Newman, Tracie Price and Lewis Green.
Newman was chasing his third Fast Forward 400 metre win this year following success with Wind Burn Flash and Super Cobra.
And he looked a good chance of bringing up his third with Paw Some Sloane, the fastest of the heat winners the previous week.
And that’s how the Exchange Printers Category 2 prizemoney final played out.
Hawker’s Cadillac Star took up the early running while Paw Some Sloane settled in second spot before taking over off the back.
On the line the daughter of Bernado and Dusseldorp – the December 2020 litter having now produced five individual winners – had 3¼ lengths to spare over the early leader in 23.08 seconds.
The win also kicked off another successful day for the Moorak-based Newman who then won the last with Ajmer, a son of Mogambo and Azalea Monelli.
He was an all the way 2 3/4 length winner of the Bartholomew Pick 6 Stake (400 m) in 23.16 seconds over Claretown Molly, trained at Tailem Bend by Bob Fletcher who earlier in the day had been successful with Son Of Haka in the Produce Store Stake (400 m).
Donny Rocks, a younger full brother to Sennachie, arrived last month at Price’s Compton kennels with a couple of indiscretions hanging over his head from 12 starts on Victorian tracks.
But the striking looking 36 kilogram brindle dog who is raced by his breeder, Ron Murch of Adelaide suburb Pennington, did not do too much wrong at his first race start at Tara Raceway.
A winner at Shepparton and The Meadows, Donny Rocks was chasing his first win since the middle of last year when he lined up from box four in last Thursday’s Trackside Meats Stake (400 m).
And he left nothing to chance when leading all the way in the 1-4 wins event, eventually running out a 9 1/2 length winner over Bourne Nancy in a quick 22.78 seconds.
The win was the second for the week for the litter at the track after Kingsville Flyer had scored an equally as impressive 600 metre win at the previous Sunday meeting.
Another littermate is Frankie Boy, a winner of 10 races over 730 metres at Angle Park.
Earlier in the day, the Price-trained Deceleration brought up his fourth win over 512 metres at the track in the Cadillac Racing Stake when defeating Harry Swagger by three-quarters of a length in 30.02 seconds.
Parwan-based Green and his wife Julie fought out the Commercial Hotel Maiden Stake (400 m) with littermates Cawbourne Sunny and Cawbourne Iggy.
Bred by Stuart Dickinson of Camden in NSW, the pair is by Cosmic Rumble out of Cawbourne Liz, a winner of 18 races on New Zealand tracks.
Cawbourne Sunny, whose first four starts were at Wagga, took the lead down the back before running out a comfortable 5 3/4 length winner in 23.42 seconds.
The Green-trained Cloned brought up her trainer’s double when taking a rails run turning for home in the Swallow Drive Meats Stake (400 m) and holding out Venetian Jet to win by a half head in 23.43 seconds.
