Lismore Final Looking Like A Race in Two

By Jeff Collerson
Tuesday night's GRNSW Fifth Grade Series Final at Lismore is shaping up as a match race between heat winners Sandave Sky and Miss Kenny.

In Tuesday's heats Sandave Sky set the 520m time standard with a strong finishing win in 29.74 while Miss Kenny led throughout in 29.80, after running out and colliding at the first turn.

But Miss Kenny had defeated Sandave Sky in 30sec when the pair clashed over the Lismore 520m trip on April 6.

"I was given Miss Kenny as part of a deal after I reared her and her siblings for Queensland breeder Steve Williams,'' her owner-trainer Brad Northfield said.

"She showed promise at breaking in stage but was inclined to run very wide and was not very tractable,'' Northfield said.

"While she still uses a bit of the track she is handling herself much better in a field and is learning all the time.

"It is certainly nice to be racing for $5000 in a little fifth grade next Tuesday.''

Sandave Sky was hampered at the first turn and roared home from a distant second on the back straight to win her heat.

"She is going to be a good stayer,'' trainer Dave Richardson said.

"Her sister Barsandi won over 520m at Lismore on March 30 in a fast 29.51, and while she has more early pace than Sandave Sky, I believe she is also going to develop into a smart long distance performer.

"I will step them up to a middle distance shortly but they only turned two last week so will hold off trying them over 720m for a while.''


It was feared Manila Beef would not race again when he suffered a severe leg injury in the catching pen after winning at Dapto in November, but the rising four year old bounced back with a near record performance there last Thursday.

Manila Beef had won three consecutive races at Goulburn and Dapto before injuring his leg and owner Ted McNamara was resigned to the dog becoming a pet.

But trainer Geoff Sheather, who turned 80 late last month, believed rest and patience could bring the dog back, with Manila Beef not only returning to the track, but winning first-up in near record time.

Last Thursday Manila Beef, who was the 2020 Goulburn Greyhound of the Year, took his earnings to just on $50,000 at win number 23, zipping over the 287m in 16.83.

That compared well with the record figures of 16.71 posted by Le Sands, in February, 2016, and equalled four years ago by short course sensation Friskey.

A long forgotten fact about the late Duke of EDINBURGH is that he was a greyhound owner.

Prince Philip raced the top class stayer Playfield Royal who was in the kennels of famous English trainer, the late Gordon Hodson, and who was a star long distance performer at the HOVE track in 1978 and 1979.

All prizemoney earned by Playfield Royal was donated to the National Playing Fields Association, one of the Duke's favourite charities.

Queen Elizabeth has continued the Royal tradition of owning thorougbreds, but she also accompanied Prince Philip to watch greyhound racing at HOVE, a seaside resort in the East Essex county, on July 16, 1962.