Lord/Gilbert/Brewer Training Combo Train Half The Solway Card
Anyone who doubted that Andy Lord and Jodi Gilbert would make an instant impact on New Zealand Greyhound Racing had those doubts quickly erased last Sunday when the Foxton trainers, training under the training names of Daniel Brewer and Jodi Gilbert; won almost half the card at the Wellington Greyhound Racing Club's highly successful TAB meeting at Solway Showgrounds on Sunday.
Lord and Gilbert have only just resumed training after the team dominated New South Wales Greyhound Racing for many years, until Gilbert was disqualified in 2005 for 18 months after a greyhound trained in her name returned a positive to a metabolite of cocaine, the same metabolite (Benzoylecgonine) as involved in Tony Sacco's recent positive swab in Victoria.
All four of their winners were well supported and included the feature event, the Wing Memorial, with Magic City. Magic City's win was according to the local news report “a thoroughly impressive effort from Magic City too as he settled off the pace and was caught wide for most of the 545m journey”.
“Track specialist Jimmy Hall, on the other hand, made his usual smart beginning from the one trap and looked set for an all-the-way win when he turned for home more than a length ahead of his six rivals but try as he might he could not withstand the paralysing finishing burst of Magic City, who, like all the Brewer-Gilbert team, was making his raceday debut at Solway”.
“A popular third was Hutt Park Flyer, who is raced by a syndicate of owners organised by the Wellington club, most of whom were on course to see their pride and joy in action”.
“Brewer and Gilbert also won with first starter Fight Night, classy sprinter Mumma Doons and the smart Gunnadoo Dreams and they, along with Magic City, are likely to return to Solway for the Wairarapa club's Cup meeting on Wednesday, January 28”.
“Levin trainers Graeme and Shirley Hayden-Holmes achieved the notable feat of trifecting the class one middle distance with Four White Sox, Tiger Indy Woods and Red Terror and Irene Moore, also from the Manawatu, produced two winners in Jennimore and Sharimore”.
“Sunday's meeting attracted a big and boisterous crowd with on course betting figures reaching a staggering $NZ48,000, which is far above the norm for greyhound meetings at any time of the year”.
Source : Wairapa Times-Age