Initially the plan was for local greyhound Bourne Burner to be sent to Victoria for some work on his box manners.
This was after the March 2019 son of Worm Burner and former 512 metre Tara Raceway track record holder Thanks Tubby had won four races at the local track in the first half of 2021 for Allendale East trainer David Peckham.
But Bourne Burner’s Victorian stay stretched out until last month, during which time he also won at Warragul and Sandown Park over 515 metres in a tidy 29.64 seconds at the end of last year.
However, according to Peckham, the black dog – bred, reared and broken-in at Allendale East – had recently returned home after it had been suggested that he would probably be better suited to retirement in a Greyhounds As Pets (GAP) program.
“To be honest, I could not find too much wrong with him upon his return.
“So I said to Bourne Burner’s part-owner, Kevin ‘KD’ Douglas, that perhaps the dog was worth trialling just to see where he was at.
“And after he went around over 400 metres in something like 23.40 seconds I figured if nothing else he could be worth a try at a Thursday meeting,” Peckham said.
Last Thursday, Bourne Burner lined up for his first race start in close to three months when taking on the Commercial Hotel 5+ Wins Stake (400 m) at Tara Raceway’s time-graded meeting.
In the end it was an easy win, the $3 chance defeating Lektra Violet by five lengths in a best of day time of 23.02 seconds.
Now it’s a Sunday meeting that’s worth a try.
Back for another day at the dogs were Teresa and clients from the Claro Aged Care and Disability Services.
And Peckham and Douglas had arranged for Aston Percival to be their dog for the day.
“He’ll give them something to cheer on in race six,” Douglas had said.
Peckham did train a double on the day – Dundee Reactor defeating 296-start six-year-old Filthy Phantom by a nose in 23.31 seconds in the Greg Martlew Autos Stake (400 m).
And while he could not get Aston Percival over the line for the Claro group they did get up close and personal with the black dog after the race.
As they did also with the race winner, Nero Valentino, now owned and trained by Kerry Hawker of Edenhope.
Winner of the second race, the Exchange Printers Stake (400 m), was Bourne Blue, a daughter of Worm Burner and Maximum Bella and also bred by Peckham.
Chasing her first win in 18 months, Bourne Blue took up the running from Sophie turning for home before running out a two length winner in 24.02 seconds.
The win brought considerable joy to the handler, Carisma Corpica, granddaughter of the winning connections, Killarney-based Raylene and Kevin Gavin who took over ownership of the blue bitch from Peckham 12 months ago.
Memorial events to complement Cup meeting
The John Reid Memorial Maiden (512 metres) and the Eric Lewis Memorial (600 metres) will once again complement this year’s running of the Anniversary Cup over 512 metres at Tara Raceway.
Heats of the Anniversary Cup and the Reid Memorial will be run on Sunday, July 17.
Both finals will be run the following Sunday, along with the one-off Lewis Memorial.
The John Reid Memorial is run in memory of one of the club’s real stalwarts who won the 1984 Mount Gambier Cup at Glenburnie with Count Down.
His memorial was first conducted in 2005 and won by the Robert Halliday trained Itza Bee.
And the Portland-based trainer well remembers the son of Solve The Puzzle and Lilac Time.
“He was a pretty handy dog and early in his career I had received a few offers for him.
“I did not really want to sell him but when the offers kept coming I told the prospective buyers that I wanted $15,000 for him.
“That was fair sort of money back then and I figured that sort of amount would scare them off.
“But the sale went ahead and at the end of a 97-start career Itza Bee had won 23 races and close to $100,000 in stakemoney.”
Eric Lewis was elected to the inaugural South East Greyhound Racing Club committee at a public meeting in the Mount Gambier City Hall on September 14, 1972.
He served as president between 1973 and 1975.
At the instigation of his son, Dale, the Eric Lewis Memorial was first run over 600 metres in 2014 when won by the Robert Britton trained Zipping Basil.
The past two Lewis Memorials have been won by Clint Trengove’s My Boy Bean (732 metres) and Born A Runner (600 metres).
