The story behind 'The Squizzy' goes back almost 100 years.

On January 21, 1928, Taree staged a match race, pitting Squizzy and Javelin against one another down the Mid North Coast circuit's straight. The race was held over 220 yards and Squizzy (potentially named after Melbourne gangster 'Squizzy' Taylor) thumped Javelin by 15 lengths in a tick over 13 seconds.

'The Squizzy' was named in that greyhound's honour and was first run in 2022 over 392m. The inaugural race was taken out by the Craig Last-trained Gunnadoo Coco, with Mad Stan running second and Minnesota Ace finishing third.

In 2023, the final took a totally new complexion when pre-race favourite Style Sensation was scratched from Box 1, affording first reserve Maldotti a run from the plumb inside draw.

Maldotti flew the lids and surged to the front in the early stages, before Weffalee Shield emerged from the chasing pack and started mowing down the mid race leader.

It may have taken the length of the straight but Weffalee Shield eventually ran down a brave Maldotti in the shadows of the post to claim a memorable victory.

The time of 22.44 was a new race record and capped off a strong month for the Tony Forbes-trained runner who also ran second in the Jimmy Jenkins Memorial at Bulli in late May.