Seven nights earlier at Ladbrokes Gardens, having his first appearance on a racetrack, Mr Peregrine won by 17¼ lengths and clocked the fastest time ever run at the venue by a maiden greyhound. However, some will argue his performance on Saturday night was even more impressive.
The time might have been around eight lengths slower, and the winning margin 16½ lengths less than that previous win, but the way in which the youngster took out the prestigious Robert Smith Memorial Maiden Final had to be seen to be believed.
Even trainer Jane Carruthers couldn’t quite believe it.
“Oh my goodness,” she said. “I can’t believe it. That was an amazing win. That was so good. He missed it (the start) by a minute.”
It was indeed amazing.
Mr Peregrine was slow to move, then sandwiched soon after. He steadied, charge up around the field then was sideswiped at the first turn. He managed to ride the bump and got into second place heading up the back, but on the turn out of the back, it looked like the bumpy ride had taken its toll as the leader Sapphire Banner was still going strong in front.
But the dog named after a bird of prey, had stalked the leader around the home turn, then hooked out and raced on by for – as Jane accurately put it – an amazing win.
“It’s a real honour to win this race,” Jane said. “I used to speak to him (Robert Smith) and I really don’t talk to many people. My husband knew him quiet well and he was just a tremendous person, and a gentleman of the sport.”
Robert Smith was one of the Hunter Valley’s most successful trainers during a career that spanned more than four decades and was a huge supporter of racing in the region, particularly at The Gardens. He won the 2010 Group 1 Paws Of Thunder with Lochinvar Marlow for Gordon family.
Robert Smith passed away in 2021 aged 68 after a battle with cancer, and GRNSW Board member Kevin Gordon introduced the Maiden event in 2022, with his company Multicam sponsoring the $20,000 feature.
Jane confirmed that Mr Peregrine was in fact named after the peregrine falcon: “And they are supposed to be very fast”.
The peregrine falcon is not only the fastest bird in the world, but the fastest in the animal kingdom and has been measured at a speed of 389km per hour. Mr Peregrine was a little way off that around The Gardens on Saturday, but he has shown in his two runs to date that he is very, very fast clocking 29.14s last week, and very very tough and tenacious with his gutsy 29.72s win in the final.
There had already been comparisons between Mr Peregrine and his brother Not Without who won his first six starts in stunning fashion and times at Richmond and also at Wentworth Park.
“He was always just a little bit faster than him. When they trialled he (Mr Peregrine) was always just a little bit faster than Not Without,” Jane revealed. “So we knew he could run, and we always said if we had one in the litter we would keep him for this particular race.”
Sapphire Banner claimed second with Power And Glory running on to grab third.
