Caption: The Jeff Crawford-trained Steel Gunn storms home to win the Capelbourne Cup at Capalaba. (Photo: Just Greyhound Photos)

Capalaba Club News With Neil Archer

STEEL Gunn continued his successful return from a career-threatening injury earlier this year to give trainer Jeff Crawford his fourth win in the Capelbourne Cup, the feature race run at Capalaba’s Melbourne Cup day meeting.

The Capelbourne Cup field is determined by the fastest race times at Capalaba since January 1. The Gary Mackay-trained Fernando Grand, who equalled Leeroy Rogue’s track record with a 19.22 performance on September 24, was clearly the one to beat in this year’s edition.

But Fernando Grand ($1.50 fav) had no luck from the start, while Steel Gunn ($4.40) powered home late with clear running along the rails to down We’re On One ($10) by three-quarters of a length in 19.71. Fernando Grand was a nose away third.

Crawford won the Capelbourne Cup three years in row from 2016-18 with his Capalaba champion Leeroy Rogue.

That chaser was virtually unbeatable up the straight, winning a host of feature races at  Capalaba. He set the 19.22 track record back in October 2016.

“I hope I get another one as good as Leeroy Rogue one day,” said Crawford.

“He won the three Capelbourne Cups and it’s nice to win a fourth, but I admit I went into this year’s race more in hope than anything else.

“The field was very strong – almost up to the class of a Capalaba Cup – and Fernando Grand was obviously going to be very tough to beat.

“I didn’t go to Capalaba on Melbourne Cup day and as it was a non-TAB meeting I couldn’t watch the race at all.

“So I asked my wife Jane to text me and let me know if he’d either run a place or finished unplaced, but when she texted ‘winner, winner’ I knew things had worked out okay for us.

“The race actually panned out pretty well for him with that rails draw.

“There was a lot of buffeting up the straight from some of the speed runners and he was left to his own devices out on his own along the rails.

“We certainly had a bit of luck on the day, but you take the good with the bad in greyhound racing.

“I’ve been on the other end many times, so when you get some luck in races, you take it.”

Raced by West Australian breeder-owner Jayson Gunning, Steel Gunn’s Capelbourne Cup win was his fourth consecutive victory up the Capalaba straight and his seventh win overall from 12 starts.

  But the racing career of Steel Gunn (Superior Panama-Nanza Gunn) was almost over after only a few starts when he suffered an Achilles tendon rupture back in February.

That injury is often the end of a racing career, but with time and rehabilitation he was finally fit to resume after seven months on the sidelines.

He returned in brilliant fashion on September 24, posting a slashing win in 19.46 at Capalaba.

He had underlined his potential at the beginning of the year with his debut second to Valpolicella in his heat of the Vince Curry Memorial at Ipswich on January 21.

He then ran fourth to Elisheba in the Vince Curry semi, and at his third start posted a quick 30.29 over 520m at Ipswich on February 11.

He won at Ipswich again the following week in 30.51 but was injured a few weeks later.

 “He was always chock-full of ability from the start, then he was injured,” said Crawford.

“He’s probably lost a bit since that injury but he’s still well above average.

“He seems to be handling his racing well and has shown no signs of soreness.

“Hopefully that time he’s had off will pay off in the long run in terms of longevity.”

Crawford said Steel Gunn was likely to now head to this month’s TAB Anniversary Cup at Capalaba and long term he is looking towards next year’s Straight Of Origin.

“I’m slso looking at aiming Lose Your Cool and Cyrus towards the Anniversary Cup,” he said. “But Steel Gunn is definitely the best of my straight-track dogs at the moment.”

The TAB Anniversary Cup heats are on December 3 with the $18,500 final on December 10.

Along with the Anniversary Cup, there are several other quality races coming up in December.

The heats of the Tommy Hoyland Memorial are on December 10 with the $7700 final on December 17. The heats of the Annual Pest Management Grand Prix are on December 24 with the $11.600 final on December 31.

Clegg the new Capalaba chairman

LONG-TIME thoroughbred and greyhound participant George Clegg has been voted in as chairman of the Capalaba Greyhound Racing Club.

The recently-retired medico, says he is very enthusiastic about his involvement with the club as Chairman.

“The Capalaba club is going absolute gang busters,” Clegg said.

“Erin Cameron, the club’s track manager and secretary, has done such a fabulous job. She has put together this team of staff that complement each other, do great work and everything just runs so smoothly.”

Clegg said the timing was right for him to become involved in the club’s administration.

“I have had a decades-long association in thoroughbreds and greyhound racing,” Clegg said.

“I believe that at 74 my time as a trainer is limited. When this current litter that I have racing is finished I would say that will be the end of me as a trainer. Erin suggested that I take on the Chairman’s role and having retired about a year ago I felt like it was something I would like to do.

“Up until now I didn’t have the time to do it. I believe I can add something to the club. I have had a lot of experience from an owner and trainer point of view.”

Clegg said although straight-track racing has always been an integral part of the greyhound industry, it was now blossoming.

The safety of straight-track racing and the injection of extra prizemoney had brought tracks such as Capalaba firmly into focus.

This year the track celebrated their Cup being elevated to Group 2 status with $75,000 to the winner.

Clegg said the Capalaba club was overcoming infrastructure issues with work to start soon on a new flood-proof kennel block and also with critical work just completed on electricity supply.

He said with the support of Racing Queensland, the club was now looking at a very buoyant future.

“The track is in excellent condition thanks to the work of Trevor McSherry,” Clegg said.

“The club is certainly in the position to have two permanent race days each week.”