THERE was plenty to be excited about in western Victoria last week, with the culmination of a number of big races taking place across the four tracks.

Kicking off last Tuesday (June 23) at Horsham, the feature heats of the evening were those of the Doug Hughes Memorial – taking place over the famous 480 metres.

In the first of the two, David Geall’s Sir Charleton repayed punters’ faith by scoring in 27.32sec. He used the famous home straight to show off his devastating motor, overrunning Miss Harmony to win by a head in a thrilling finish (Replay).

Soda Man was the victor in the second of the two heats, and he did so in a stylish manner – scoring emphatically in 27.18sec. Slow to begin, he manoeuvred through the middle of the field to challenge Go Mobo at the 450 metre mark, before taking the lead just metres from the finishing post (Replay). Not surprisingly, this also took the title as fastest 480 metre dash of the evening.

Jordy Paige was the fastest over the 410 metres, beating Jeff Galea’s Zelemar Zest for the title by a remarkable two microseconds.

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Horsham Results & Replays: Click Here

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BALLARAT was headed by the prestigious GRV Vic Bred final, as race six of the evening. Taken out by Hogganaught, the race was hotly contested by both One Step Beyond (fourth place) and Star Titan (second place) approaching the final turn, before Hogganaught used the inside alley to break away to salute emphatically in the home straight (Replay).

The talented Zambora Brockie stole the spotlight with his run earlier in the night – a dazzling 25.29sec triumph over the 450 metres – while See Him Run put on a clinic in his flying 22.12sec best of the night over the 390 metres.

Jason Thompson’s Whodat Knockin’ scored in the first of the longer distance races, a freakish run which saw him take out the best of the evening over the 545 metres. Using emphatic mid-race speed to make up for a poor start, Whodat Knockin’ used exciting staying potential to power through and lead in the home straight (Replay).

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Ballarat Wednesday Results & Replays: Click Here
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HEADING south to Warrnambool, and the feature of the evening was the popular Norfolk Butchers Dual Distance – a series which requires competitors to be proficient over two distances. Horsham Cup finalist Shared Bonus (pictured top) backed up his impressive victory over the 390 metres the week before, with a dazzling 25.32sec triumph over the 450 metres. Rocketing through the outside alley after a fair beginning, Shared Bonus shot to lead by the first split. Gary Hunt’s Cudgee Destroyer stuck on well, maintaining a two length dividend behind Shared Bonus until the final turn.

The Kermonds Hambugers GDR, paying $6710 in prizemoney, was won in the victory of the night – a true staying run from Global Lad. Sixth in the field heading around the final turn, Global Lad danced through the field until finding the rails, before shooting through emphatically to score by a head on the line. RSN caller Paul Hammon’s call of the race shows how genuinely close it was on the line (Replay).

Tina Womann’s Hetalia Bale was the fastest triumph of the night over the 390 metres, shooting and scoring in 22.06sec.
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Warrnambool Thursday Results & Replays: Click Here
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THE WOMANN camp had more success the following night at Geelong, with Dyna Lemmy saluting in the Destini’s Fireball @ Stud Final. In the process, Lemmy pocketed a solid $3050 for his efforts. Dyna Lemmy showed fantastic mid race speed, coming from behind to score over race favourites in We Are Geelong and Agility in 30.15sec.

Pyromania took out the quickest run of the evening over the 400 metres, a solid 22.41sec gallop over the top of Ketut’s Kaput.

Dyna Keitaro used the inside alley to make up for a slow start when he recorded the fastest of the evening over the 460 metres – a flying 25.94sec effort (Replay).
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Geelong Friday Results & Replays: Click Here
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That was greyhound racing in the state’s west this week, good luck for the next one and happy punting!
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Whodat Knockin’ (6) scores at emphatic win at Ballarat on June 24.