Ashleigh Kay, a 31-year-old office worker from Tea Tree Gully, landed her first winner as a hobby trainer when Oogway was successful at Thursday’s Tara Raceway time-graded meeting.
Contesting the Winning Post Supplies 1-4 Wins Stake (400 metres), the white and black son of Fernando Bale x Panda Bale found the front down the back before running out a half-length winner over Fran Wahwah in 23.74 seconds.
But Kay, who had previously made the long trip with Oogway from Adelaide suburbia to Mount Gambier on five occasions in quest of her first win, was unable to attend the race meeting – Tamica Dunn of Palmer bringing down the dog for her.
“I’m currently in Sydney for a wedding,” she said when contacted later in the day.
“It was a terrific thrill when I checked the results and saw that he had won, although it would have been lovely to have been on track.
“While my first winner had been a while coming, it was certainly nice for it to have been at Mount Gambier.
“I love the track and the people there are really friendly.”
It was perhaps a touch ironic that Oogway defeated the Dunn-trained Fran Wahwah.
“My first greyhound was actually Mr Spock who was given to me in July last year by Tamica and her partner Michael Stewart.
“They have been a terrific help with their advice in regard to the training of my dogs,” Kay said.
The SA-bred Oogway found his way into Kay’s kennel last October after having won his maiden over 330 metres at Richmond in NSW.
“I had been looking for an SA-bred dog so when he came up on Greyhound-Data as a giveaway I was more than happy have a go with him.
“He’s the only one I have at the moment but I’m looking for the right one as company for Oogway.”
With him being whelped and reared at David Peckham’s Bourne Kennels, Thursday was an ideal opportunity for kennel helper Christine Yourgules to catch up with Oogway.
“I had quite a bit to do with the litter as it was growing up out at Allendale East.
“So I was really pleased when I boxed Oogway and Ashleigh won her first race,” Yourgules said.
Meanwhile, Dunn enjoyed success in her own right when Spring Brooke quickly found the front in the Gordon Refrigeration Stake (400 m) before running out a 1½ length winner over Aston Sabelle in 23.39 seconds.
A giveaway greyhound, the daughter of Collision x Tina Lee has now won five races for Dunn who has been involved in greyhound racing for “pretty well her whole life” and still remembers the 2016 Mount Gambier Cup.
That was when they brought down Wave To Kirra who, after defeating Abscond in a heat, ran fourth in the final behind Mojito Mayhem.
Training honours for the day went the way of Melton South-based Daniel Harvey who the previous week had won his first race at Tara Raceway with Mia’s Memory.
On Thursday he went one better, training his first-ever double when River Rapids won the Trackside Meats Maiden Stake (400 m) in 23.76 seconds.
Then, three races later, Mia’s Memory won again, this time running a personal best 23.52 seconds in the Carlin & Gazzard MG Stake.
Harvey’s first winner came in September 2019 when Zipping Hector defeated the Peter Crawley trained Bomber Creek at Horsham.
