Caption: Former track star Tommy Shelby (above) is making a name for himself as a sire through the early deeds of his runners, including the WA pair West On Boonie and Flying Freda.

Western Australia News with BRETT HONEY

WEST On Boonie took out the recent final of the Listed Westcha$e in fine fashion at Cannington, proving too strong for Flying Freda.

West On Boonie drew box six for the final after finishing a close second behind West On Blossom in his heat.

The son of Tommy Shelby began fairly and was able to avoid the first turn pressure that eventuated on the inside. It quickly became a two-dog race between West On Boonie and Flying Freda with Boonie taking control leaving the back straight, going on to score by two lengths.

 The race was dominated by the in-form Chris Halse kennel, with his team filling the top three placings and accounting for five of the final field. 

The Westcha$e series was one of the strongest editions we have seen in recent years in what was a great result for local breeders.

Every dog who made the final had a PB of well under 30 seconds and there’s been several subsequent winners to come out of the series.

WA stud dogs such as Tommy Shelby, Vanderworp and Premium Share had strong representation in the heats and showcased the depth of the state’s sprinting ranks, given there was some big omissions from the series.

Tommy Shelby making a mark at stud

Tommy Shelby is making every post a winner in the breeding barn and is beginning to stamp his authority on the WA scene.

Australia wide, Tommy Shelby-sired dogs have won in excess of $500,000 in prizemoney in 2023 with a winning strike rate of 20.1 per cent.

Flying Freda and West On Boonie, who ran first and second in the Westcha$e final, are the two highest money-earners to date, while their littermate King Tommy looks to have a big future ahead of him after recent performances at Cannington.

WA stars shine away from home

West Australian greyhounds continue to do our state proud when travelling away from home, this time headlined by Elite Machine taking out the Group 1 Brisbane Cup.

 In what was billed as one of the strongest Brisbane Cups in history, Elite Machine was able to power his way to the front and was simply too good throughout.

It was Elite Machine’s and trainer Jamie Marsh’s second Group 1 this year, previously taking out the Perth Cup in March.

Crumble Monelli also made the final after winning well in his heat. Rippin Grace also made the journey to Brisbane, finishing third in the Queensland Cup.

David Hobby took a team of three to The Meadows to contest the Group 1 Maturity Heats, with Crumble Monelli and Pudding Monelli both finishing second.

Crumble Monelli wasn’t far off crossing and once he was unable to lead, his job got much harder. Pudding Monelli put in a strong performance and backers would have had a degree of confidence turning for home, but he couldn’t quite catch Launch Code late.

 Custard Monelli was the other WA contender but was unplaced in his heat. He had no luck and was put out of business at the first turn.

Hostilities will soon be renewed with WA stars tackling the upcoming Nationals at The Meadows.

 Novice middle-distance races a winner

In recent months, Novice Grade racing has been added to the racing program and have now been switched to the Saturday card.

Early doors, the dogs who tended to be nominated for these races were the stronger, run-on types who didn’t run time over 520 metres.

But there’s been a shift recently in how trainers have utilised these races and consequently the quality has greatly improved.

In the lead-up to the Westcha$e final, Flying Freda and King Tommy both had starts over the 600 where they were able to lead and get some confidence. This was particularly beneficial for King Tommy, who raced quite greenly in his first few career starts.

The shift towards proactively using the 600 metre novice races has the potential to be a game changer for some younger dogs who have talent but are still working it all out. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues.

Coming up in the month ahead

WA greyhound fans have three feature races to look forward to in August.

The WA Sprint and Distance Championships will take centre stage and is a series all participants look forward to. Whilet The Nationals have lost some shine in a congested feature race calendar, the race still is a great source of pride and is one that all interstate trainers want to win.

Heats will be conducted for the Sprint Championship on Friday, August 4, with the final to be conducted the following Wednesday. There will be a one-off final for the Distance Championship on the same night.

Rounding out the month will be the running of The Peter Thomas. This is a Grade 4/5 series with a generous $20,000 heading the winner’s way.

 This has always been a great series for younger dogs to earn feature race success as they make their way through the grades.