Caption: David Andrews’ Drop Of Red winning last Saturday night at Ipswich. She will contest the M&K Butchers 5th Grade Final (520m) this Saturday night. (Photo: Just Greyhound Photos)
Pat McLeod’s weekly wrap of racing at Ipswich
Gold Coast realtor David Andrews is hoping the ‘cash register’ stays open on Saturday night with his two-pronged attack on the M&K Butchers 5th Grade Final (520m).
“The returns lately have been very good,” he said.
“Both my dogs have won and I have sold some pups as well. The greyhounds are more than paying their way.”
Andrews has Brownlow (box 3) and Drop Of Red (box 5) in what should be a very competitive final, with the expected favourite to be Col Graham’s Sweetest Smile (box 2).
In his last two track outings to Ipswich Andrews picked up a win for Brownlow on November 2 and then a win to Drop Of Red and a third to Brownlow in last Saturday night’s heats.
He rates Drop Of Red (Fernando Bale x She’s Whistling) as his best chance in Saturday’s final.
“She has always shown potential,” he said.
“However, she lost confidence after a heavy fall a while ago and it has taken some time to regain that confidence.
“That is why I was so happy with her performance last Saturday. Finally she was ‘back’.
“She isn’t the fastest beginner, but is very strong and hits the line really well, so for some time now I have earmarked her for more distance.
“Confidence is such a tricky thing.
“After the fall, at home, she didn’t act any differently, but when I brought her to the track, behind the boxes she would look around. I could see that she was a bit nervous.
“I am happy with the (box) five for her on Saturday night. On form, there is not a lot of pace outside of her.
“She likes to stay a little wider, so hopefully, if there is any trouble at the first corner, it will be inside her.
“Her last sectional is generally strong, so if she is within two or three of lengths of the leader down the back then she should figure in the finish.”
Andrews said he wouldn’t be surprised if Brownlow led early, but was not yet in peak condition.
“He is probably a couple of runs from his best and will improve. He is just starting to hit form.
“That is the case for both of them.”
Andrews said he would move Drop Of Red up to 600m at Albion Park after Saturday night’s final, with the ultimate goal 710m at Headquarters.
There was a fitting appreciation of the past, but also a nod to the future with the recent and final Ipswich Cup to be run at the showgrounds track.
The Tom Tzouvelis-trained Autumn Storm took the major honours on the night with victory in the Group 1 $225,000 Cup.
However, as Ipswich Operations Manager Wayne Siekman points out, the whole four feature events that night were eye-catching.
“It really was a sensational night of racing,” he said.
“The four main events certainly stood out as the highlights of the night with the class of the dogs.
“There was a very good crowd and a great atmosphere.
“Of course, we have plenty of racing to be held at this track before we move across The Q next year, but Cup night was a fitting farewell to that event at this track.
“The Ipswich Cup is an historic race which now has Group 1 status and great prizemoney – $150,000 to the winner.
“Those things certainly attract interstate interest and that was the case this year despite there being a lot of competing events on the national calendar.
“The feedback from the visitors was very positive.
“They appreciated the club’s assistance with trials and racing.
“The new branding, the fact that the club is now under the QGRC (Queensland Greyhound Racing Club) banner, is also starting to seep through to people coming from interstate.
“Obviously next year that will be all-apparent when we are operating from the new venue, but Cup night was a small taste of the new branding.”
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Visitors came away with more than a taste of the QGRC branding, they were also licking their lips with the taste from the Ipswich track kitchen.
The ‘home-styled’ menu at Ipswich has been a hit with the locals for a long time, but some tweaks to the cuisine are now capturing wider applause.
“We have received a lot of really positive feedback about the club’s menu,” Siekman said.
“And plenty of that came on Cup night.”
Siekman also urges locals not to keep the club’s dining a secret across the Christmas festive season.
“Our facilities, including our VIP room, are available to everyone – inside and outside of the industry,” he said.
“We have really good Christmas dining packages available to small or large groups.
“The beauty of having a celebration at our club is that you have the choice of having a live race meeting as the backdrop.”
Ipswich races most Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays with day and night-time booking options.
The next feature race meeting at Ipswich will be the Group 3 Vince Curry Memorial Maiden – heats January 18, Semis January 25, final February 1.
This meeting is expected to be the final ‘major’ race farewell to the Ipswich showgrounds track and will also draw the curtain down on the Golden Greys Summer Carnival.
While this race series is still two months away there will be plenty of trainers already with plans of targeting promising pups to this prestigious, and world’s richest, greyhound maiden.
The $75,000-to-the-winner is a big attraction.
The series also has a proven history of debuting the next wave of Sunshine State race stars.
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Five trainers scored doubles at Ipswich races over the past week.
They were: Friday, November 8 – Darryl McGrath; Saturday, November 9 – Col Graham and Jedd Naum; Wednesday, November 13 – Paul McIlveen and Ned Snow.
