As far as local greyhound racing is concerned, the Mount Gambier Cup boasts a long and colourful history.
First run in 1981, two years after racing commenced out at Glenburnie, the inaugural cup was won by Tara Topar, handled on that day for Joan Cruise and Newman McDonnell by Steve Bartholomew who 38 years later trained his own cup winner in Galactic Athena.
And as greyhound racing drew to a close out at Glenburnie in 1996, Col Sims, the leading local trainer at the time, had still been chasing his first Mount Gambier Cup winner.
But Sims ended up being successful in the last of the 16 Mount Gambier Cups run there over 479 metres when the speedy front-running Colin Ian defeated Nickelman by a length in 29.74 seconds.
The following January saw racing commence at the new Tara Raceway on Lake Terrace East and again Sims looked to hold a strong hand in the 1997 cup with a greyhound called Becker McLaren.
By Denver out of Stone Free, Becker McLaren was owned and trained at McLaren Vale by Don Foster who is still enjoying success with his greyhounds – these days trained at Hahndorf by his daughter Tania.
It’s fair to say that Becker McLaren did have his share of problems and by the time he found his way down to the Carpenter Rocks kennels of Sims for the 1997 Mount Gambier Cup he had been off the track for close to 18 months.
Another formidable pair down here at the time was Bert Hogan and Ralph Patzel – the former having won the 1992 Mount Gambier Cup with Mick’s Devil who defeated Mr. Tom in 29.56 seconds.
Back in December 1992 Hogan had bred a litter by coursing greyhound Invercoe Riot out of Ashanti Zulu with one of the offspring later racing as Ashanti Gem for Hogan and Peter Bronca.
Ossie Chegia of Sellicks Beach was the black and white bitch’s original trainer before she returned to Hogan and then in March 1997 to Patzel who boasts a lifetime involvement with greyhounds.
He trained Aqualair, winner of the first race at Glenburnie on opening day in 1979 and later, between 1998 and 2001, was the club’s leading trainer.
“My association with Bert came about by pure chance after he offered me the use of his galloping track to assist in training my dogs. It just progressed from there and I also ended up with some of Bert and Peter’s team,” Patzel said.
“Really, the first Mount Gambier Cup run at the new track in 1997 was always going to be a tough ask for Ashanti Gem who by then was 4½ years old.
“As it turned out, I need not have worried because she failed to reach the final – or so I thought – after running second to Zero Raider, trained by Ray Mahony who is still racing here to this day.
“I was at the track on the Monday morning of the final helping out with last minute track preparations and as I prepared to go home to get Ashanti Gem ready for a consolation race that afternoon I was informed one of the finalists had injured itself.
“No scratchings the day prior back then so she gained a run in the final on the morning of the race as a reserve from box three,” said the Mount Gambier GRC life member and former long-time lure driver.
It’s now history how Ashanti Gem and Becker McLaren went stride for stride in the final over the 512 metre journey with the former winning by a narrow margin in 30.64 seconds.
For Hogan, Bronca and Patzel, the win of Ashanti Gem – still one of the oldest Mount Gambier Cup winners – was truly one to savour.
However, a couple of months later, Becker McLaren turned the tables on Ashanti Gem when winning the first Anniversary Cup run at the track.
Heats of the 2025 Cadillac Racing Mount Gambier Cup (512 m) will be run at Tara Raceway on Sunday, March 30 with the Group 3 $36,000 Cadillac Racing Mount Gambier Cup final on Sunday, April 6.
