Caption: Hara’s Bacon’s post racing life is all about cats and couches (Photo: Jemma Daley)
Ipswich Club Wrap with ROWAN ANDERSON
NOVEMBER saw the Ipswich Gold Cup and Sprint Finals with Hara’s Herbie collecting the Cup’s $100,000 first prize for trainer Jemma Daley.
Hara’s Herbie started as $2.10 favourite and out of the box missed the jump to sit second before using the rail run to drive through and on the first bend take a six-length lead and put the race to bed on the final corner.
The Cutlack-trained Sunburst was second before Nando Dreamer rounding out the placings.
Daley, 33, is regarded as one of the best up-and-coming trainers and she is passionate about the welfare of her dogs.
“From start to finish she is one of the best trainers-owners I have known,” said president of Greys4Pets Kate Johnson.
“Her dogs are the healthiest and most sociable dogs going around.”
The trainer brings youth and a new way of thinking for training greyhounds which covers the entire life span of her runners as integral for her success.
It’s great to see for all fans of the sport and a strong sign for the growth and future development of greyhound racing.
“I’m a massive advocate for the pre-racing and definitely the post-racing career of my dogs,” Daley told Chase. “My dogs mean everything to me. I spend the whole day with them.
“No matter if they are fast or slow they give us everything they have. So to give them a whole life means everything to me.
“They know who we are and that never changes. Actually my brother has one of my first runners – my first winner and he lives on the couch, but knows who I am and always will.”
Daley refers to Fernando Bale-Hara’s Annie dog Hara’s Bacon whelped in 2018 who had a 21-start career for 2-2-4.
With time on horseback as a trackwork rider, beginning at age 15 at Deagon, Daley would go on to work for some big names including powerhouse trainer Tony Gollan.
Her career as a jockey also saw her racing the Birdsville circuit, but she decided to focus on and pursue a career with greyhounds.
“It began as an urge to give it a crack because it was something different, but still in racing,” she said. “I had to choose one or the other and when you are doing one well then having the dogs kept me away from getting back on the horses.”
Now with 20 dogs in her kennel, her stars include a trio of ‘Hara’s” and some other prospects she is excited with.
“I’m not going to lie, I definitely get a lot of negative attitude towards what I am doing on the track in terms of wins and success, but we keep coming back and showing what we are capable of,” she said.
“People see the success I am having now but they haven’t seen the two years before that with these dogs. It’s been a massive build-up to here, but to see the dogs succeeding gives you that great feeling of pride.
“I haven’t been handed these dogs from anybody. I have had to work my butt off.”
The Cup win was the first Group race win for Hara’s Herbie, although he has shown how he relishes racing in group company with a fifth placing in Group 3 company and a third place in a Listed Race. His record now stands at 28:8-7-5.
He has proven to be the best performer from the Sennachie litter out of Hara’s Annie as he knocks on the door to $150,000 in prizemoney.
An entry in the $60,000 Group 2 Queensland Flame Final awaits him with the chance of taking the $40,000 purse for the winner.
Run over 520m The Flame gives the best 16 Queensland-trained chasers the chance to show their talent on the first major night of the 2022-23 Golden Greys Summer Racing Carnival at Albion Park on December 1.
Hara’s Skye has a record of 26:14-3-4 which include one Group 3 win along with two Group Listed wins – the Molly Campbell Silver Dollars victory earlier in the year.
“Skye copped a little bit of a knock in the Ipswich Cup heats, but we are just wanting to make sure she is 100 per cent before we let her hit the track again for the Flame heats.”
Hara’s River has run 24 times with a 10-5-2 form line which includes two second placings in Listed races.
“River had a slight niggle, but she should be only a week away or so if there is a race for her.”
The kennel also includes other classy types including Where’s the Bar and Motivational.
“Other dogs we have include Hara’s Opal who has gone 29.86 a few weeks ago. She is out of the same litter as the other three and can perform up there also,” Daley said. “We also have a few nice young dogs coming through as well.”
However, Daley and partner Tarquin Neal, a handy greyhound trainer himself, may be lost to the industry if they are unable to find a new property.
With 872 starts with 194 wins between them most coming at the Ipswich track, it hopefully won’t come down to this.
“We are looking for a new property to use as a base but it is very hard to find much of anything,” Daley said.
*****
SPRING Rock won the $15,000 Sprint Final with another huge performance for the Byers kennel.
With Times Three starting at $1.80 favourite, the Fernando Bale-Derenger four-year-old had too much in the tank jumping from the two box and like a bullet to the lead dashing away.
*****
THE Pauline Byers kennel has gone one better than last year, breaking its record for the number of starts in a calendar year – 587.
The kennel has stars that include Spring Rock, Spring Cleo and Ringbark Road and they are showing no sign of stopping.
“Yes, that is a lot of dogs! You don’t really realise there has been that many over 12 months,” Pauline Byers said.
“It means a lot to us to be successful because (her late husband) Colin was always successful at Ipswich. We know that we are doing everything that Colin had done with the dogs.
“Mind you we didn’t know we would go this good.
*****
THE next two months at Ipswich is the lead-up to the Group 3 Vince Curry Maiden Final which is still the richest race for maidens in the country.
Run over the 520m, the winner takes the $50,000 top prize. It is held in the first week of February and with the current crop of racers coming through it is set up to be highly competitive.
