At the time he didn’t know whether to stay in NSW or head back home to Perth. Steve Withers stayed and his dog went on to win the Group 1 Golden Easter Egg at Sydney’s Wentworth Park.
The victory capped a remarkable racing season, and that year culminated on Tuesday night with the crowning of Tommy Shelby as 2020-21 Australian Greyhound of the Year.
The Golden Easter Egg was scheduled to run through March and April and climax with the $250,000 final on Easter Saturday, April 3. But inclement weather twice forced the postponement of the heats in March, and the entire series had to be pushed back a week.
The delay meant that if Withers stayed with Tommy Shelby, they would have to bypass their hometown’s premier event, the Perth Cup. It was a difficult decision and Withers even admitted post-race that he wanted to go home, but was out-voted by the owners.
As a result, Tommy Shelby won the Egg, and joined just a handful of greyhounds to have won $1 million in prizemoney.
It was Tommy Shelby’s third Group 1 of the season, having also captured the Hobart Thousand and the Australian Cup.
To go along with those successes, Tommy Shelby was also runner-up in the Group 1 Vic Peters Classic at Wentworth Park, third in the Group 1 Melbourne Cup, and third in the Group 1 Gold Bullion at Queensland’s Albion Park.
In October last year, Tommy Shelby came to Sydney as the West Australian Sprint Championship winner and won his semi-final of the Million Dollar Chase, before finishing a gallant third in the $1 million to the winner Grand Final.
Withers, who always claims Tommy Shelby makes him look good, was awarded the Australian Trainer of the Year at the virtual awards ceremony.
Brilliant NSW stayer Stanley Road was a finalist in the Greyhound of the Year category, and his performance in the Association Cup earned connections the award for Run of the Year.
Legendary NSW journalist and thedogs.com.au contributor Jeff Collerson was also inducted into the Hall Of Fame after 60 years of service to the industry.
Collerson began work at the Daily Telegraph in 1962 and continued to work there as their greyhound writer until his retirement in 2012.
He joined GRNSW upon leaving the Telegraph and began supplying content to the organisation’s media platforms, and partners.
Tommy Shelby’s parents, Fernando Bale and Serena Fly High won the Sire and Dam of the Year award respectively.
