Ginn’s Awesome Foursome Rule At Wagga
“We had a record crowd in excess of 1,000 people which was fantastic. To get more than 1,000 people to a greyhound track for a single meeting is a huge achievement”, Darren said.
“We had entertainment for the kids and they were 20 deep at the jumping castle and the line at the pony rides was about 50 metres long”.
The night also saw two training records go to two exceptional kennels with both Michael Carter and Amanda and Glen Ginn achieving amazing feats with their chasers on the track.
Michael Carter was triumphant with his greyhounds in both the Simaroo Lodge Cup Consolation and the Graeme Hull Memorial Cup Final.
“It was a massive achievement for Michael Carter taking out both the Consolation and Cup final and it is a feat that has never been achieved at Wagga”, Darren informed.
In the Consolation final Carter put the polish on checks runner Jack Silver who had to do plenty of work to land the prize after only beginning moderately. The son of Trewly Special and Ice Dancer positioned himself behind the leader in the run out of the first turn before challenging for the lead and drawing clear down the back to take out the race by three and a half lengths in a fast 30.31 seconds. The 35 kilogram heavyweight has now put together 11 wins from 45 starts with another 20 placings to his name.
The highlight of Carter's night came in the eighth event with Jimmy Lane an all the way winner in the Graeme Hull Memorial Cup. Beginning well from box two the Victorian was able to muster plenty of pace in the run to the first turn and from there the race was all over as the two and a half year old stretched out to claim the $10,000 winner's purse by two and a half lengths in a nippy 30.41 seconds. By promising young sire Dyna Lachlan, the black sprinter has won 14 races from 39 track appearances and has been a very consistent greyhound racing down South.
Carter had a very busy weekend with his other speedster Shadow Lane qualifying for the Group One Peter Mosman on Saturday night at Wentworth Park when running second behind Johnny Fire in his semi-final.
Sunday night was also hugely successful for brother and sister training team Glen and Amanda Ginn who had four runners in the Butch Pertzel Memorial over the 400 metre distance. The fact that the Cudal identities had qualified half the field for the $3,000 final was an impressive achievement and record in itself however if that was not enough they managed to get their dogs over the line in first, second, third and fourth position.
Remarkably the winner of the event, Midnight Ivy, was the least fancied of the Ginn's runners paying a whopping $18.40 for the win.
“For the Ginn's to have four runner's in the event was a great feat but for them to cross the line one, two, three, and four is unheard of”, Darren enthused.
The winner was prepared by Glen Ginn, a trainer for 35 years. Midnight Ivy qualified for the final when finishing second behind kennel mate Vayetra in last week's heats but got a dream run in the final as Amanda explains, “He is usually a wide runner so we thought he was going to jump and take the field with him as he ran off but he just jumped to the front and stayed pretty straight”.
Amanda and Glen were understandably delighted with the triumph after breeding and rearing the litter themselves however it was not until the numbers went on the board that they realised that they had got the first four. “We knew we had won it with one of them but it wasn't until someone pointed out and we saw on the board that we had the first four that we actually realised what they had done”.
“I was so proud of them; to get the first four in a feature final and especially from the same litter has never happened at Wagga or I don't think anywhere”.
It was also an exciting night for Amanda's son Tyler, with the 15 year old boxing his first feature race winner. “Tyler was stoked and it was really exciting for him to handle the winner and be a part of it”, Amanda said.
“He is still at school but he helps out with the dogs and is a big part of the kennels”.
The Ginn's are located at Cudal, located between Orange and Forbes and live next door to each other and train from the same property. In running a successful kennel, Amanda explains that there is a large amount of team work going in to make sure everything runs smoothly, “Glen works at the council during the day and I also work. Whenever someone goes to work the others step in and make sure everything gets done.”
Amanda would again like to thank the Wagga Club for making them feel welcome and like a local on the night, “The people there are fantastic, and I can't speak highly enough of them”
“We had so many people- even strangers coming up to congratulate us on the win”
“The crowd was huge and I can't believe how many people were there. I have never been to a track that puts on quite a show. For a small club to go to that extent is outstanding. There were kids and families everywhere having a great time”.
As for what comes next for the sons of Hesa Felon and Miss Bliss they will most likely head to the Grafton Carnival at the end of the month, “Glen goes to the Grafton carnival every year so that's where they are headed. They will probably have a run before that but we are not sure where yet”, Amanda revealed.
As for now, the dynamic training duo are enjoying their fantastic success with their chasers with Amanda adding just how much Sunday's triumph meant to them
“We were so excited and it meant so much to us. They are very special. People always look at the relationship we have with the dogs and say how much they love us but what they don't realise is we love them twice as much”.
“We will never forget that night”.
The next meeting at Wagga will be held on Sunday the 30th June before the meetings are transferred to a twilight time slot on Thursday evening. With so much success and potential the club is confident they will thrive when faced with this new challenge.