Greyhound club predicts bumper carnival fields

Wairarapa Greyhound Racing Club officials are predicting record nominations for their four-day New Year carnival at Solway Showgrounds next month, and more races have been carded as a result.
The January 3 and 7 meetings were originally scheduled to be 10-race programmes but these have already been stretched to 14 because of the interest expressed by trainers all over the country.
And a similar situation seems certain to occur for the January 21 and 28 meetings as well
WGRC president Gary Caffell said there was a strong likelihood that fields for all four TAB meetings would attract entries from both the South and North Islands.
He said his club had received an unprecedented number of inquiries as to the scheduling of races and there was every prospect that nominations for all four meetings would better the record of 210 set at the club's Wairarapa Cup meeting in late October.
"The thought then was that we had established a figure which would stand for a long time but now we are thinking it could be bettered just one meeting later," Caffell said.
"Obviously inquiries don't necessarily mean nominations but it's certainly looking that way."
Caffell said Solway Showgrounds was a popular venue because it provided a different type of environment to other tracks in New Zealand.
"We are big on hospitality and creating a social atmosphere and trainers like that ? it's more relaxed and enjoyable for them," he said.
Caffell believes too that having a grass surface is in Wairarapa's favour with the majority of other venues being sand.
"There are a surprising number of trainers who actually to prefer to race their dogs on grass because of the better cushion it provides," he said,
"And the circumference of the track is different too ? you don't necessarily have to be an on pace runner to win there."
Caffell said the Wairarapa club had also spent considerable monies enhancing their amenities with the January 3 meeting signalling the first time that all runners would be housed in new kennels specially constructed to make life more comfortable for both dogs and their handlers.
"We always try to make the comfort of the dogs a priority and the new kennels are certainly a major improvement in that respect," he said.
Caffell said Solway was user-friendly to punters as well with the action on the track able to be viewed from close range.
"They can virtually touch the dogs as they fly past ? .that's how close they can get," he said. "And the same goes when they are paraded before the races, the emphasis there is on allowing people the chance to appreciate what wonderful athletes they are, and how hyped up they can get before going onto the track"
The New Zealand Championship Hurdles will be a highlight of the first two meetings, with the heats being run on January 3 and the final four days later.
Palmerston North trainer Mike Boyd has had something of a mortgage on this race in recent times but while Aranui Mist and Aranui Flash are sure to be worthy representatives for him favouritism will probably rest with Dancing Banshee, trained by Paul Freeman of Foxton. He was actually broken in over hurdles on the Solway track and has been in splendid form over the sticks this season.
Caffell said Wairarapa was seen as the home of hurdle racing in New Zealand with dogs often being travelled long distances to trial at Solway in readiness for hurdling campaigns.
"It's clearly the most spectacular form of greyhound racing and it generally attracts the most support from the punters too," he said.
Also scheduled for the January 3 meeting is the GRNZ Inter-Provincial Cup, a 545m event for class two and three greyhounds where the aim is to have one representative from all of the greyhound racing regions in the country.
Adding to the competitive flavour is that handlers wear the colours of their provincial rugby sides and it was Wairarapa-Bush who emerged successful last year when Masterton trainer Owen Marron picked up the spoils with Dinah Washington.