Careful planning, brilliant speed and an ounce of good fortune landed South Australian chaser Tauwitchere the Launching Pad at Sandown Park last night.
After finding trouble when finishing second her semi-final, Tauwitchere created her own luck in the decider. Beginning brilliantly from box 7 – the fourth time she’d jumped from the box in five starts at Sandown Park – and crossed the field to lead clearly through the first turn. With the rest of the field finding trouble, Tauwitchere quickly opened a race winning break to score by 7½ lengths in 29.41.
“Looking at the box draw, I thought if she can come out like a rocket – which she normally does – and cross them, well, once she took off down the back I was cheering,” said trainer Steve White.
Steve White discusses Tauwitchere’s brilliant Launching Pad victory
The race went to script for White and Tauwitchere and capped months of planning, albeit with a bit of mixed fortune along the way.
Tauwitchere burst onto the South Australian racing scene in October 2018, winning her first five races before being sidelined with injury. Along with a number of other Kirin Corby trained pups, she was transferred to White’s Victorian kennels for a tilt at the riches in the eastern states in early 2019. The timing of her recovery fit in perfectly with the Launching Pad, being open to greyhounds with 1-6 wins. However with just 64 tickets available for the $432,000 sweepstakes series and White only having three tickets for his five contenders, Tauwitchere was almost left on the sidelines.
When highly fancied kennelmates Querencia and Alfieri had setbacks in the weeks leading into the series, Tauwitchere was presented an opportunity to take her place in the series and would take full advantage and take home the $150,000 winners cheque.
White also claimed the Launching Pad Consolation with Sennachie, and with his third runner Red Rock finishing third in the same race, they collected $187,500 across the three series.
“(The race) is a great concept for young dogs,” White continued.
“You’ve just got to plan it. We brought her back from injury and she’s just had to really work her way back up and she has. With a bit of luck she would have been undefeated at the track, but that was the plan to have her back to her best at her fifth run back.”
White praised the work owner, breeder and former trainer Kirin Corby did with the greyhounds prior to arriving at his Paua Racing Kennels complex, and was full of admiration for the relationship she has with her greyhounds.
“Kirin is so in love with her dogs and the dogs love her.
“On the podium tonight we couldn’t keep Tauwitchere still she was just so happy to see Kirin. It was the same when we had Sennachie and Red Rock out earlier. She’s staying at our place for a couple of days so it’s going to be mayhem trying to settle them back down!
“But she really loves the dogs and I’m so grateful that we could achieve something with her. We ran second in the Silver Chief with Sennachie and now we’ve won the Launching Pad so it’s pretty exciting for the future.”
As the name suggests, the Launching Pad has launched the careers of some of the country’s best greyhounds. Graduates of the 2018 series include some of the biggest names in the sport including Tornado Tears, My Redeemer and Dyna Patty as well as winner series winner Beast Unleashed, and the 2019 series is shaping as being equally strong.
Earlier in the night, Neo Cleo claimed her second group race title with a brilliant go-to-whoa victory in the Easter Gift.
Click here for full results from last night’s meeting.
Launching Pad Honour Roll
| YEAR | GREYHOUND | TRAINER |
| 2019 | Tauwitchere | Steven White |
| 2018 | Beast Unleashed | Jodie Lagogiane |
| 2017 | Suffragette | Kerrie White |
| 2016 | Buck Forty | Jason Thompson |
| 2015 | Usain I’m Nutty | Andrea Dailly |
*Since become a sweep stakes event
