Greyhound club scores coup

The Wairarapa Greyhound Racing Club has achieved a major coup, with heats and final of a $9000 New Zealand Graduation Racing Series being staged at their TAB meetings to be held at Solway Showgrounds, Masterton on December 27 and January 3.
The series is a new initiative by Greyhound Racing New Zealand and is open to greyhounds bred in New Zealand and graded between maidens and class two. It will be raced over the middle distance of 545m.
WGRC president Gary Caffell said his club was delighted to be the "guinea pig" for the series with the substantial stake likely to attract entries from all over the country.
"There is so much racing these days that you need new ideas to entice trainers to enter for your meetings and this should be a great help in that respect," Caffell said.
Another highlight of the December 27 and January 3 meetings will be the running of heats and final of the Trust House New Zealand Championship Hurdles, the premier race on the New Zealand greyhound calendar for hurdlers.
"There is so much racing these days that you need new ideas to entice trainers to enter for your meetings and this should be a great help in that respect."
Woodville trainers Carol and Wayne Morris are sure to be strongly represented in this event with last season's Hurdler of the Year in Aranui Flash spearheading their challenge. He won his heat very impressively 12 months ago but injured himself in the process and was unable to take his place in the final.
Further good news for the Wairarapa club is the obtaining of free services to two of the country's best-credentialled sires for their Cup meeting to be held at Solway Showgrounds on February 27.
One of these is to former New Zealand Greyhound of the Year Willy What and it will go the winner of the Wairarapa Cup, a class five race which should draw some of the country's leading middle distance exponents.
The other is to former Stayer of the Year in Skipper Rip and, appropriately, it will go the winner of the Distance Feature to be raced over the extreme distance of 730m.
Meanwhile, the Wellington Greyhound Racing Club is all set to "let the dogs out" at their TAB meeting to be held at Solway Showgrounds this coming Sunday.
Feature races there include the time-honoured E.J.Wing Memorial, a sprint for veteran greyhounds aged four years and over and, at the other end of the age scale, a restricted age middle distance for greyhounds aged under two years.
Organisers of the popular Greyhound Adoption Programme will be on course to publicise their organisation and there will be plenty of entertainment for youngsters, including a flying visit from Santa Claus, bouncy castles, a chase the bunny competition and a lolly scramble.