Kite Street Upstages Dana Beatrice In Cowra Cup
A bumper crowd was left stunned when Kite Street upstaged local champion Dana Beatrice in a magical Cowra Motors Greyhound Racing NSW Country Challenge final (524m) on Friday night.
The Golden Easter Egg-winning starlet Dana Beatrice looked the winner for every inch of the 524m dash before succumbing to a withering late burst from Kite Street.
Punters eagerly awaited the decision before the judge flashed up the Cowra-based Kite Street as the winner by a nose.
It left the majority of those trackside downbeat, with bookmakers offering $6 for the eventual winner as opposed to Rodney McDonald's heavily-supported odds-on favourite.
Those who had invested their hard earned on Dana Beatrice would have been excused for clamouring around the betting ring in preparation of a collect shortly after the lids were lifted when the Collision bitch blasted on the bunny.
She cleared out to as many as five lengths around the back before tiring over the last 150m.
Instead it was Glen Enfield and Wayne Whiting who were left to toast the $6,000 purse for first and eight Country Challenge points after their kennel star lunged best at the post. But even they were resigned to a minor placing through the middle stages of the race.
“I didn't think she would lead and I didn't think she would run them down, but the rest is history,” Enfield said.
Whiting added: “I knew she would come home strong.
“We know she can come home strong and she's never been beaten over the 600 at Bathurst.
“She's a real strong dog.”
It was a fitting finish to an exciting series which has showcased some brilliant racing.
Dana Beatrice banished any concerns over her out-of-sorts heat performance with a slick beginning from box one.
She had already opened up a two-length lead to the first bend with Kite Street (box three) and Brencole Bale (box eight) jostling for second.
That lead appeared insurmountable through the catching pen as Kite Street, who didn't even qualify for the corresponding final in 2008, emerged the one most likely.
But the final strides told a different story as the outsider ghosted up to win by the barest of margins in 30.64s, improving her box three record to six wins from nine attempts.
Diamond Frenzy (box six) was a further 2½ lengths away in third.
Enfield credited the box three as a big factor in the wash-up while co-trainer Whiting admitted they might hand the 13-race winner one last metropolitan assignment before she's in season.
“We might have one at Richmond or one at Wentworth Park before we put her out,” Whiting said.
The widely-travelled Mighty Albert, who also qualified fastest for yesterday's Muswellbrook final, finished sixth.
How They Finished
Final placings in Cowra Motors Greyhound Racing NSW Country Challenge final (524m):
Kite Street 30.64, Dana Beatrice 30.64, Diamond Frenzy 30.82, Oodnadatta 30.91, Brencole Bale 31.15, Mighty Albert 31.21, Patty Cake 31.23, Running Cargo 31.94.
Courtesy : Cowra Guardian