It’s probably unfair to say Anakie’s ‘Team Grenfell’ is attempting to break a ‘jinx’ in the Group 1 TAB Temlee (525m) at The Meadows on Saturday night.

Paradoxically, over the past three years, the Temlee has been relatively kind to Correy and Samantha Grenfell.

Orson Allen – the greyhound that ‘put them on the map’ in the sport – was runner-up to Barooga Brett.

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And last year, their stars – Yozo Bale and Tiggerlong Tonk – finished second and third respectively to NSW champ, Wow.

Indeed, those performances netted the husband-and-wife team $71,250 in prizemoney.

Regardless, the Grenfells are quietly confident ‘successor’ Kinson Bale – trained by Samantha – can overcome the so-called ‘hoodoo’.

“He’s definitely not the fastest dog in the race,” Correy said. “But he’s a good race dog; he knows how to pick his runs.”

Grenfell added Kinson Bale had pulled up well from Wednesday night’s Listed Western Districts Derby at Ballarat where he finished an unlucky sixth to Paddy Wants Pats.

Kinson Bale, a $10 chance on TAB, will wear the coveted ‘red rug’ (Box 1) in the $100,000 to-the-winner Temlee.

“He’s a chance off the ‘red’; he’s going to put himself into the race.”

GROUP 1 TAB TEMLEE (525m)
The Meadows, Saturday, Race 8, 8.50pm – First prize $100,000

1 KINSON BALE (Samantha Grenfell, Anakie VIC)
2 IDOLIZE (Peter Presutto, Devon Meadows VIC)
3 SPOTTED ELK (Graham Hall, Marburg QLD)
4 ASTON RUPEE (Glenn Rounds, Devon Meadows VIC)
5 ZIPPING KYRGIOS (John Finn, Cranebrook NSW)
6 DO IT (Jeffrey Britton, Anakie VIC)
7 ZIPPY TESLA (Andrea Dailly, Anakie VIC)
8 LALA KIWI (Andrea Dailly, Anakie VIC)
Reserves:
9 ORCHESTRATE (Tony Brett, Grandchester QLD)
10 QWARA BALE (Andrea Dailly, Anakie VIC)

“It’s the first time we’ve drawn a decent box for a while in a final,” Grenfell said. “He’s a chance off the ‘red’; he’s going to put himself into the race.

“I see him being up in the leading division with Idolize (Box 2) and Spotted Elk (Box 3). But if he leads, he’s capable of running 29.80sec.

“But you wouldn’t want Aston Rupee (Box 4) sitting on your hammer. However, I think Zipping Kyrgios (Box 5) could prove the one to beat.”

Kinson Bale really emerged during last year’s G1 Melbourne Cup series.

In comparing Kinson Bale to his previous Temlee finalists, Grenfell said: “He’s more like Yozo Bale. He needs to get out and go.

“Orson Allen and Tiggerlong Tonk could do it at both ends.”

Kinson Bale (Aug ’19 Barcia Bale x Hae Allen) revealed he was right up to G1 class when third to Koblenz in the 2021 Melbourne Cup.

WATCH: Kinson Bale (6) books a 2021 G1 Melbourne Cup berth with a 29.47sec heat victory.

He was also runner-up in this year’s G2 Warragul Cup and third in last year’s G3 Silver Bullet.

In all, he’s won 13 races (with 15 seconds and nine thirds) from 53 starts and $164,640 in stakes.

It’s a night of ‘Premier Racing’ at The Meadows as the Temlee is part of a G1 triple-header also featuring the Rookie Rebel (600m) and Zoom Top (725m) named in honour of champions of yesteryear.

PAWNOTE: Temlee (aka “Tiger”) – purchased as an eight-week-old pup for $135 – won the 1974 Victorian Greyhound of the Year award.
He won the 1974 National Sprint Championship and 1974 Maturity Classic and was a 1974 Melbourne Cup finalist.
Temlee won 25 races, including 13 at Olympic Park, from 37 starts.
On March 25, 1974, he established a 29.67sec track record over 511m at Olympic Park.
He also headed the Victorian Metropolitan Sires’ List (1978-82) for five consecutive years and was the first greyhound to command a $1000 stud fee.