Greyhound Racing SA infrastructure, IT and facilities manager Paul Mullins this week advised the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club (MGGRC) that work would be proceeding on the patron facility upgrade.

He said the GRSA Board met last week and had agreed to proceed with the list of projects recently advised by the MGGRC committee in relation to the facility situated at Tara Raceway on Lake Terrace East.

“This, of course, is subject to the total cost not exceeding the GRSA grant of $750,000 that had been allocated to the club.”

Mullins said that he had asked George Stubbs of Studio Nine Architects to commence pricing the individual elements of the projects.

“I will advise the club as soon as I have more information.

“However, the key here will be to establish whether all of the work can proceed or whether some elements may need to be modified to adhere to the budget.”

He said one area that would require feedback from the committee and other stakeholders would be the upstairs area that takes in the stewards, judge, camera operator and lure driver.

MGGRC president, Noel Perry, this week welcomed the news saying he believed the club should be able to come in under the allocated $750,000.

“Besides the upstairs area, other projects prioritised by committee include toilet upgrade, reverse cycle air-conditioning, amalgamation of kitchen, new bar and TAB, office modification and wheelchair access to the patron facility,” he said.

Extra work pays off for Secretly Slick

Terang trainer Mark Roberts was the first to admit that he had been a little disappointed with Secretly Slick’s effort in last Thursday’s Trackside Meats Stake (400 metres) at Tara Raceway’s time-graded meeting.

“She had shown plenty of early pace from out in box eight but when the crunch came turning for home she had appeared to be found wanting and had died on her run in the race won by kennelmate Concrete Comedy in a time of 23.23 seconds.

“So I gave her some extra galloping after Thursday’s run in the lead-up to Sunday’s Todd’s Photographics Stake (400 m) to see if it would make any difference.”

And $12 chance, Secretly Slick, after settling second spot box eight, finished too strongly for Hot Cadillac when winning by 1 1\4 lengths in 23.75 seconds.

A red fawn bitch by Zipping Garth, Secretly Slick is out of Marj Petal, a winner of six races at Richmond, Maitland and Taree.

“Back in April she had been advertised for sale for $2500 after winning a maiden at Maitland in NSW.

“As it happened, Stu James, a long-time friend of mine and these days a miner in WA, had been looking for a greyhound to race so we settled on Secretly Slick,” Roberts said.

“She’s now won five races for us at Mount Gambier and has turned out to be a handy sort of purchase.”

And Abby Doll, a daughter of Fernando Bale and the unraced Subzero Doll, appeared to be all the better for a run at Tara Raceway the previous week when returning with Ballarat trainer Trent Blacker for Sunday’s Metal Worx Maiden Stake (400 m).

The brindle bitch, who joined Blacker’s kennels four months after breaking-in, never looked in any danger of defeat when quickly taking up the running from box eight before going away to a 6 1\2 length win in 23.48 seconds.

“To be honest, I thought she seemed a bit lost last week when having her first look at the track and then just being beaten.

“But she certainly looked a better dog today when bringing up her first win at start number eight,” Blacker said.

Abby Doll was the second leg of a double for NSW owner Adam Powell after Redeem A Prize was successful in the Bartholomew Pick 6 Mixed Stake (600 m) for Two Wells trainer Jack Trengove.

Redeem A Prize, a daughter of My Redeemer and Spare Cash, never looked in any danger of defeat when leading all the way and defeating Myola Queen by 7 1\4 lengths in 35.43 seconds.

Meanwhile, this Sunday sees the running of the South-East Hoteliers Day at Tara Raceway with the South Eastern Hotel, Federal Hotel, RSL Mt Gambier, Tantanoola (Tiger) Hotel, Western Tavern, Dartmoor Hotel, Commercial Hotel and the Pines Hotel Tarpeena being represented in the Licensed Victuallers Challenge over 512 metres.