Caption: Emma Avdulla
By DIMITY MAHER (The Greyhound Girl)
VICTORIAN-based Emma Avdulla never envisioned herself as a greyhound racing lure driver, until she pondered the prospect when asked by representatives from the Lang Lang Coursing Club.
There’s no training course or manual when it comes to learning the fine art of lure driving. So Emma had only a few lessons and demonstrations before her first drive.
Her first experience in the driving tower gave Emma mixed emotions.
“I was kind of excited, with a little bit of nervousness, but definitely more excited for my first time,” she said.
“To have done the big one for coursing, being the Waterloo Cup, was a great experience and probably a dream race to operate the lure for.”
The 39-year-old comes from a family entrenched in racing.
Brother Brenton, is one of Australia’s most successful jockeys, having also dabbled into greyhound ownership. His most renowned chaser, Fernando Hunter, is a 23-time winner trained by Michelle Sultana, while her father, Peter, previously operated as a bookmaker.
Emma’s advice for anyone else looking to jump into the driving tower is “Just go for it. You never know if you will be good or enjoy something if you don’t try it.”
Lure driving is certainly a thankless task, however, Emma’s enthusiasm and willingness to take on such a role and flourish, should serve a timely reminder to anyone not to be afraid to try different roles in greyhound racing, including lure driver, commentator, kennel attendant and race starter.
There have been many first-time victors in the training ranks lately.
Leppington-based conditioner, Bronwyn Hayes Merzi notched her first victory at The Gardens during September, with Burgin Blooded saluting over the 400m.
The daughter of Zambora Brockie and Inter Mimi made a successful transition to the 515m distance, with a solid 29.97 effort in just her second attempt over the trip.
Many metropolitan milestones were also achieved during the first-half of September, with NSW trainer, Jarrad Dodd, recording his first win at Wentworth Park with consistent chaser Speedy Pebbles over the 520m.
Jacob White also celebrated his first win at the track with Rebel Ethics winning over the 520m distance.
Victorian Bianca Clark put the polish on her first city winner, with Blow The Whistle victorious at Sandown over the 515m.
The success of astute trainers John and Melinda Finn is widely known by industry participants and spectators alike, however on Saturday September 16 at Wentworth Park in the opening event, it was quite the family affair, with Melinda, John and daughter-in-law, Courtney Barnes filling the first four placings.
The race was won by talented up-and-comer, Zipping Ronaldo, a son of Hard Style Rico and Zipping Dharma, who carved out a slick time of 29.85 for the 520m journey. Weighing-in a touch over 38kg, he comes from a fabulous producer, being a half-brother to Group 1 winner, Zipping Orlando and versatile chaser, Zipping Sabrina.
