Casino trainers Toni and Charlie Northfield made their Easter trip to Forbes worthwhile yesterday afternoon when Pretty Kingsbrae won the $5140 Greyhound Racing NSW Country Challenge Final at Spooner Oval.
The black and white bitch scored in the major race of the Forbes Greyhound Club Easter carnival, from kennel-mate and race favourite Kingsbrae Di, with Montana Belle third.
Forbes Greyhound Club secretary Dennis Booth said the first two finishers were reasonably backed, at 7-2 and 6-4 on, respectively.
He said the final was a fitting finale to the carnival, which featured 27 races on Easter Saturday and Monday.
“It was a great race,” Booth said.
“The Northfields are great supporters of our club, coming all the way from Casino for the weekend, and incidentally the Casino track is almost a dead ringer for Forbes,” he said.
The 498m Country Challenge final is one in a series of races sponsored by GRNSW at country NSW tracks.
Finalists earn points in the series and the eight top dogs at the end of the season race in a series ‘Shoot-out’ at Wentworth Park in July, worth $20,000.
The series winner also earns a $10,000 bonus.
Kinsgbrae Di has 40 career wins and is currently leading the series, after winning in 2007.
Greyhound Racing NSW board member and country representative Debbie Prest said the series sponsorship allows country clubs to offer rich prizemoney and showcase their tracks.
The overall series is worth $270,000 in prizemoney and sponsorship.
Coonabarabran also held its Country Challenge final yesterday while the Young club will host a GRNSW meeting next month.
Pretty Kingsbrae has nine career wins compared to Kingsbrae Di but with the older dog likely to be retired to stud soon, yesterday’s winner is looming as the next kennel star for the Northfields.
Two other finals were held yesterday with All Spicy, trained by David and Melinda McGrath of Sydney, winning the 346m Ted and Eileen Hodge Memorial Final.
The Derek Kerr (Orange) trained Tiani McFitz took out the 346m Osti Too Kennels Final.
Local trainers didn’t miss out yesterday, with Billy Hodge’s Decoro Prince taking out race two, the Irinka Kennels Maiden (346m).
A full report on Saturday and Monday racing, from club secretary Dennis Booth, will be published in Thursday’s Advocate.