It’s now more than four years ago since long-time greyhound man Captain Abbott of Cadillac Racing at Edenhope purchased three NSW-bred 12-month-old litter sisters by Fernando Bale out of Miss Ibrox.

One of the purchases was never named while another of the trio was retired early in her career due to injury. But the third one – white and fawn and named Cadillac Girl – continues to race to this day.

“And to be honest, I probably had a few doubts about her when she first arrived given that at her first race start she weighed in at 21.4 kilograms,” Abbott said.

“She actually won at her fourth start at Tara Raceway in 18.07 seconds over 305 metres in May 2022. All up she has now raced on 161 occasions – four of her starts being at Angle Park and Horsham and the other 157 at the Mount Gambier track.”

Weighing in at 24.1 kilograms and chasing her 20th win, Cadillac Girl led all the way from box seven in last Thursday’s Greg Martlew Autos TG5+W Stake (305 m). On the line she had 1¼ lengths to spare over Aston Azul in 17.85 seconds.

Earlier in the day, the Abbott-bred Cadillac Ragtop, a daughter of Premier Fantasy and Pamela Rocks, led all the way when defeating Saint Bree by 2¼ lengths over 305 metres in 17.79 seconds for Cadillac Racing partner Kerry Hawker.

Cadillac Ragtop has now raced on 114 occasions, 110 starts being at Tara Raceway for 32 wins. All told she has now won more than $40,000 in prize money.

And Puddin’ Cake, trained at Painswick in Victoria by Rick Boehm, brought up her second win when virtually leading all the way in the Cadillac Racing TG1-4W Stake (305 m) and hanging on to score by a neck over Saint Ella in 18.18 seconds.

The June 2022 daughter of Aston Dee Bee and Avatar Minty has raced on only 18 occasions, all at Mount Gambier, after first overcoming a lengthy leg injury and then another extended period due to seasonal issues.

Next month, licensed Greyhound Racing SA handler/attendant, Aaron van der Kolk, 25, of Parafield Gardens, will take on the World’s Greatest Shave and help in his own small way to fund life-changing blood cancer support and research.

Aaron will undergo a head shave at Angle Park on Thursday, March 26. And Corey Wade, GRSA’s Senior Marketing Coordinator, said his department would be assisting with some promotion and support with race names and fundraising opportunities.

“Look, I’m really enjoying my involvement in greyhound racing,” Aaron said. “And any way I can put a positive spin on the sport then I’m all for it.

“Also, I’m assisting trainers Judi Hurley, Vadim Roz and Jason Dolan with their boxing and catching as well as helping out Jason at his Globe Derby kennels.”

He’s set his goal at $1000 for the World’s Greatest Shave. Currently he has raised $800 with Mount Gambier’s Tara Tipsters happy to make up the difference for Aaron.

The charity-driven Tara Tipsters is a twice-weekly tipping competition which first began in its current format back in 2021. Contestants make a small donation each meeting to the charity jar and attempt to pick the most winners on the day in a bid to gain bragging rights.

These days most of the competitions run for two months and carry the name of a local charity. At the conclusion of the series, representatives from the designated charity are invited out to Tara Raceway to attend a Sunday race meeting and receive a donation from the Tipsters.

Currently, the Mount Gambier Tara Tipsters charity is the Limestone Coast Prostate Cancer Support Group which will conclude at the end of the month.

All told, there have been approximately 24 Tara Tipsters competitions. And local charities to benefit include the Visually Impaired Club, Foodbank, Four Reasons Why and the Mount Gambier Cancer Support Group Inc.

Other beneficiaries include the Ryder-Cheshire Home Foundation, the Community Christmas Day Lunch, the Sunset Community Kitchen and the Mount Gambier Breast Cancer Awareness Group. Also receiving donations have been families with sick children requiring hospitalisation.

One of the driving forces behind the Mount Gambier Tara Tipsters has been Kevin “KD” Douglas who said the contributions over the years to local families and charities had been quite remarkable.

“They would have amounted to more than $25,000,” he said. “This is one initiative that has certainly come a fair way since the days when two or three of us used to sit out the front of the clubroom and try and outdo one another when it came to finding a winner.”

Bourne Lickety ran right up to his name at Tara Raceway last Sunday when contesting the Pindari Express at Stud Stake, a grade five race over 512 metres which also carried a free service, valued at $2200, to the winner.

Owned and trained at Allendale East by David Peckham , Bourne Lickety, a son of Feral Franky and Sweet On Me, took full advantage of box one and virtually led all the way for a 4½ length win over Tim Butcher’s Mundulla in a time of 29.80 seconds.

Actually, it had been a good couple of days for Peckham who had been successful with Bourne Lickety’s litter sister Bourne Model up the straight at Murray Bridge on the Friday prior.

And Bourne Model, a winner of more than $163,000 in prize money, is one of five finalists in the 2025 SA Greyhound of the Year. The result will be announced at Angle Park on Saturday, February 28.

The Pindari Express at Stud Stake had been organised by Kerry Hawker of Cadillac Racing, together with NSW-based Tracey Scruse who had achieved much success on NSW tracks with Pindari Express.

The son of Fabregas and Brook’s Doll won back to back Bulli Gold Cups in 2019 and 2020, broke track records at Bulli and Maitland and was a finalist in the 2019 Million Dollar Chase.

Meanwhile, Wario, trained locally by Kev Patzel, had been chasing his first win since back in November at Tara Raceway when lining up in the Quickmix Concrete Group Masters Stake (305 m).

As it turns out, the black dog – a winner of 30 races – is a son of Pindari Express. And what better time to find winning form again than on the day of the Pindari Express at Stud Stake?

And that’s how it played out. Win number 31 came up after Wario led all the way from box seven to score a 2¼ length win over last Thursday winner Mister Cadillac in a personal best time of 17.41 seconds.

Meanwhile, Mepunga Infrared, with Portland trainer Nicole Stanley for the past six months, finally broke through for his first win since April last year in the Gordon Refrigeration Stake (512 m).

Lining up for only his third start with Stanley – one of those a no-race – the son of Bella Infrared and Mepunga Molly settled in third spot down the back before railing through on the home turn and running out a 4½ length winner over Red Emperor in 29.85 seconds.

Bred by well-known Victorian greyhound man George Farrugia, Mepunga Infrared is one of five litters whelped by Mepunga Molly, the others being by Barcia Bale, Mepunga Blazer, Shima Shine and Hooked On Scotch.

And for Stanley and partner Nifty Lenehan it had been a win a long time coming following a frustrating period with the black November 2022 dog. In the end, though, it had certainly been worth the wait.

Also worth the wait was the win of Lady Tsunade for Bendigo owner-trainer Aaron Blake at start number 13 in the Cadillac Racing Maiden Stake (305 m).

Having her first start at Tara Raceway, the blue fawn bitch led all the way from box one and held out Costly Habits to win by 1¾ lengths in 17.75 seconds.

By Hooked On Scotch, Lady Tsunade is out of Adelong who boasted an impressive record at Tara Raceway during 2022 when winning 10 races over 400 m, 512 m, 600 m and 732 m.

Adelong, a daughter of Fernando Bale and Bonnie Beauty, whelped a second litter – one dog and four bitches – by Christo Bale in March 2025.

Following Lektra Lee’s win at Tara Raceway last week for John Cameron, it was another of the Lenehan breed in Lektra Hopper who was successful last Sunday for Southern Cross owner-trainer Ray Mahony.

Lining up from box four in the Trackside Pet Meats Pick 6 Stake (305 m), the son of Sennachie and Lektra Rainbow was chasing his first win since last September.

But the black dog quickly found the front before running out a six length winner over Paw Whisper in a quick 17.53 seconds.

And at Tara Raceway this Sunday, the Leading Trainer of 2025 Award will be presented to Tracie Price and the 2025 Greyhound of the Year to the connections of Wind Whiskers.

Price trained 137 winners at Tara Raceway for the year while Wind Whiskers, the current 305 metre track record holder, won 23 races at Tara Raceway.

Glencoe husband and wife team, Dean and Edna Fennell, both served up longshot winners at Tara Raceway last Thursday after Saint Bree landed her second local success this year and Magic Poppy her first.

Saint Bree, a $13 chance, led all the way from box four in the Ontrack Insider TG5+W Stake (305 m) and held out Fernando Lee to win by a half-length in 17.91 seconds. The win was the tenth for the daughter of Fernando Bale x Mepunga Stellar who has raced only at Mount Gambier.

Later in the day, $34 chance Magic Poppy, a daughter of Feral Franky and Perseverance, led all the way from box two in the Williams Crane Hire TG1-4W Stake (400 m) for Edna Fennell. This was also the Fast Forward final and resulted in Magic Poppy collecting the first prize of $1065.

This year has been a good start for Dean Fennell who currently sits in third spot on the Leading Trainers’ list – a fair distance behind tearaway leader Tracie Price but trailing second-placed Tim Richards by only two points.

Greyhound-wise, there hasn’t been a lot happening in recent times over at Penshurst, a Victorian town in the Shire of Southern Grampians and located at the foot of Mount Rouse, an extinct volcano.

But Penshurst-based John Cameron, a retired painter and decorator and long-time hobby greyhound owner-trainer, was back at Tara Raceway last week chasing his first win for 2026 with Lektra Lee in the Da’Leni Meats TG1-4W Stake (305 metres).

By Plaintiff out of Lektra Viki, Lektra Lee had won his maiden last month in Mount Gambier over 305 metres in a tidy time of 17.93 seconds before finding his way to Penshurst as a giveaway.

And it didn’t take Cameron long to get back among the winners after Lektra Lee led all the way from box one for a five length win over Sticky Fingers in a best of day time of 17.81 seconds.

Down from Ettrick was Adrien Chevalier who had Vista Argon, a son of Aston Rupee and Gypsy Vista, engaged in the Greg Martlew Autos TG5+W Stake (400 m).

Chasing his first win since August last year at Murray Bridge, the fawn dog settled in second spot behind Aston Ramona before taking the lead turning for home. He then hung on for a head win over Jaja Ding Dong with a further half head back to Aston Ramona in 23.83 seconds.

Raced by Murray Bridge schoolteacher Andrew Beaven in partnership with several soccer mates, the win was Chevalier’s second with the 40 kilogram giant who was a feature distance finalist last year.

Warracknabeal trainer Ian Bibby’s rising five-year-old Orson Fury led all the way from box two at start number 117 when defeating Cabao Marble by a length in 23.44 seconds in the Cadillac Racing TG5+W Stake (400 m).

Orson Fury’s last Tara Raceway win had been on July 31, 2025 when he defeated kennelmate Crymelon Comet who, as a 190-start rising seven-year-old, finished fourth behind Vista Argon at last week’s meeting.

Bulsara, another rising five-year-old and at start number 118, lined up from box seven in the Commercial Hotel TG5+W Stake (305 m) for Meningie owner-trainer Tanya Bialek.

Always on the pace, the son of Barcia Bale and Molly Be Nimble then finished strongly out wide in the home straight for a neck win over Duran Rachel with a further head back to Cadillac Girl in 17.98 seconds.

Training honours for the day – by way of a double – belonged to Berringa-based Michael Niele whose last Tara Raceway winner had been on November 13 last year with Berringa Paddy.

Niele’s winning day last week kicked off with Nicked Again in the Sealeys SpringworksTG5+W Stake (305 m). By Fernando Bale x Acoustic Lee, the brother to Berringa Paddy was well back early before gaining a rails run and finishing strongly for a two length win over Cadillac Landau in 18.04 seconds.

And in the final race, the Icon Signs TG1-4W Stake (400 m), Niele’s box one runner Appellant led all the way for a 5½ length win over Adhana Lulu in a time of 23.16 seconds.

A son of Plaintiff and Paua Of Mindy, Appellant had been chasing his second win last week after winning a maiden at Ballarat over 390 metres at the end of last year.