As it turned out, last Sunday out at Tara Raceway was not too bad a day for Compton trainer Tracie Price.


First he was presented with the 2023 Ian Badger Leading Trainer award by Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club (MGGRC) president Noel Perry prior to the running of the seventh heat of the Cadillac Racing Mount Gambier Cup (512 metres).


And while Price had runners engaged in all eight heats of the cup he had been running out of options by the time Myall Mate lined up from box two in the second-last heat.


But the son of Beast Unleashed and Spot On Cinta virtually led all the way to grab a spot in this Sunday’s $36,000 final and give Price yet another chance to finally win the MGGRC’s main race of the year which has been conducted since 1981.


He was Mount Gambier’s leading trainer in 2015, 2016 and again in 2018 when the award assumed the name of the late Ian Badger – the club’s inaugural leading trainer in 1978-1979.


In 2022 Price was once again the leading local trainer with a record-breaking 181 winners.


This was upstaged last year with a tally of 194 which included wins with Honey Rocks (Summer Classic), Bad Move (Cadillac Racing Cannonball) and Mister Banjo (Christmas Cup).


Speaking at the presentation, Price once again gratefully acknowledged the help he receives from his large team of helpers.


Nero Valentino’s consistency throughout last year paid off when the son of Fernando Bale and Sweet Barbados accumulated 75 points and defeated Redshift Uniform by 13 points in the 2023 Mount Gambier Greyhound of the Year (GOTY).


Nero Valentino is owned at Edenhope by Cadillac Racing’s Kerry Hawker who purchased the black dog in June 2022 for $2000.


With GOTY scoring conducted only on Category 2 (Sunday) meetings, his seven wins were sufficient to get him over the line given he had also run 21 seconds and nine thirds.


Cadillac Racing partner Cap Abbott has also enjoyed his share of GOTY success – Black Spring successful in 2019 and Another Pick in 2021.


And Mister Cadillac, second to Bern By in a heat of the cup, is currently sitting in third spot in this year’s GOTY.