NEWS FROM AROUND THE REGIONS
Floods and heavy rain continue to affect many parts of NSW, and Bathurst was the latest to suffer significant damage when the greyhound track at Kennerson Park was flooded.
Parts of the racing surface were washed away while fencing on the surrounds of the track was also damaged.
This has resulted in several meetings that were scheduled for Bathurst being transferred north to the tracks in Dubbo and Gunnedah over the next six weeks.
Final assessments are still being conducted as to the cost and timeline to rectify the damage at Kennerson Park, and GRNSW continues to provide assistance to affected participants in the flooded areas.
Miss Ezmae becomes a mum
Jack and Maree Smith were not only celebrating the win by Jungle Deuce at the Greyhound of the Year ceremony, they were also toasting the recent birth of a litter of pups which were whelped by their former star stayer, Miss Ezmae.
Miss Ezmae claimed a mammoth payday for connections when she won the inaugural '715' at Ladbrokes Gardens in Newcastle in June, after which she was immediately retired.
The litter of pups by champion sire, Collision, would have been highly sought after on the open market.
And it certainly appears that this expectation came true, because the word is that every pup that was available for sale was snapped up immediately.
Miss Ezmae's victory in the $500,000 to the winner 715 was full of drama on the day with owner Maree Smith's car breaking down at Sandy Hollow as she was on her way to the track.
A good Samaritan came to their rescue and drove Maree and Miss Ezmae the remaining two hours after which history was made and Miss Ezmae claimed a stunning win.
Thankfully, there was no repeat of that drama with Miss Ezmae handling the duties of becoming a mum to her nine pups with ease.
Strutt searching for G1 glory
24-year-old trainer Jack Strutt is heading for a date with destiny today (Saturday, November 26) when he lines up Stagger Out Lee in the Group 1 Bold Trease final at Sandown Park in Victoria.
Preparing his team at Springvale, a suburb of Wagga Wagga, Stagger Out Lee is Strutt's first runner in a Group 1 final. She will start from the coveted rails box in the $105,000 to the winner event, which comes hot on the heels of her claiming the recent Wagga Marathon in track record time.
Premier NSW Trainer Jodie Lord, from Gunning in the Southern Tablelands, will rug up the other NSW representative in the prestigious final with Cawbourne Magic (who ran a very strong third behind Miss Ezmae in the Ladbrokes 715) one of the favourites, as he looks to make it a streak of six wins in succession.
This article was produced as part of an ACM partnership with Greyhound Racing NSW.
