Token McLaren And Ernie Bung Arrow Sensational Again
A packed house at Angle Park tonight was treated to a very special nights racing, with local stars Ernie Bung Arrow and Token McLaren destroying their competitors in outstanding fashion.
The first heat of the Brian Johnstone Memorial saw the Ken Gill trained Ernie Bung Arrow spear straight to the front with an electric first split of 4.34. He gave nothing else a chance in his dominant five length win in a time of 29.81. It was the local star's 12th win from just 13 starts over the 515m at SA's headquarters. His littermate Woodnear chased his heart out and was impressive in finishing second.
The second heat of the night showed the up's and down's of dog racing, with the Ken Gill trained Farmeroo falling on the first turn and finishing tailed off. Tex Walker led the field in an early split of 4.48 and led till the top of the straight before the Robin Mackellar trained Emerley Zodiak powered home to win by four and a half lengths in 30.15. The race was a rough affair, with Set The Scene checking off heals on the first turn and severely checking Talk And Run and causing Farmeroo to fall. Farmeroo seemingly took little harm from the fall, picking himself up off the canvas and chasing the field in to the catching pen.
2013 Brian Johnstone Memorial Semi Final Replays
2013 Group 3 Brian Johnstone Final Box Draw
- 1. As It Goes Ossie Chegia
- 2. Emerley Zodiak Robyn Mackellar
- 3. Tex Walker Karen Wittholz
- 4. Nippa Norris Todd Kelly
- 5. Jack And Lolli Todd Kelly
- 6. Ernie Bung Arrow Ken Gill
- 7. Woodnear Matthew Payne
- 8. Cash Train Dean Decrea
- 9. Redeeming (1st Res) Karen Wittholz
- 10.Talk And Run (2nd Res) Ossie Chegia
Reserves
After the meeting we spoke to one of South Australia's leading trainers Petar Jovanovic to get his thoughts on some of the standout performers tonight, his bitch Book of Shadows and the current state of SA Greyhound racing.
Petar Jovanovic on Ernie Bung Arrow
“He will win the final next week no matter where he draws. He is just a brilliant box dog, the best box dog I've seen here since Top Honcho back in the mid 90s and Top Honcho ended up being England's top stud dog. Ernie just seems to break their hearts with sheer box speed.”
Petar Jovanovic on Token McLaren
“He is a potential champion stayer who will win anywhere in Australia. He is by far superior to the rest in that litter, which can all stay and have ability, but he is something special. This dog is lengths better Kalden Mayhem and in my opinion the best stayer South Australia has seen since Bothing, who won a national distance final.”
Petar Jovanovic on Cosmic Way
“He is a good SA bred dog who races well here. I think he is the best 600m dog over here by far at the moment. He is chasing really hard and seems to have the edge over Tercel. He has shown his brilliance as a 29.70 dog over the 500, but he just seems a perfect 600m dog. I'm not sure if he will get 700m, I have my doubts.”
Petar Jovanovic on Fire Tyson
“He seems to have the edge on the sprinters at the moment. Encosta Kahn led tonight, but the drive this dog showed was fantastic to win in 29.99. He is a good honest Tony Lagano SA bred dog.”
Petar Jovanovic on Book of Shadows
“She ran well considering she drew outside Victa Sam, which didnt suit. She is screaming for further, but is coming back from injuries and will go over more ground shortly.”
Petar Jovanovic on SA Dog Racing
“With Ernie and Token McLaren both flying, the top end has never been stronger. These two dogs are capable of competing with the best dogs in Australia, which is very exciting. I look around the room tonight and it's packed, and it seems to be the case everything Thursday night now, which is great for the sport. I think the time is coming that the Eastern States will start to purchase a lot of SA bred talent like they did twenty years ago. There are some really high quality pups coming through over here at the moment.”