MOREE husband-and-wife greyhound trainers Gary and Bobby Moore, and a new addition to their kennel could be city-bound in the coming weeks – but first there’s a rich final at Tamworth on Saturday to tackle before a possible road trip to Sydney.

New kennel recruit, Hang On Rob, owned in Sydney by Rob Losurdo, gave the timepiece a work-out when clocking 20.03 seconds from box seven in the  Mick Craig Appreciation Maiden at Tamworth last Saturday.

The 340m scamper was heat two of the Peel Valley Traffic Control Maiden Final, to be decided at Tamworth this Saturday, with a $4500 winner’s cheque up for grabs.

Hang On Rob pinged the lids to lead throughout and score narrowly from Melissa Jolliffe’s fast-finishing Ava’s Milo ($3), with Charles Northfield’s first-starter Kingsbrae Maggie ($2.40) more than six lengths away third.

Hang On Rob was backed with confidence, firming in betting from $2.50 to $1.90 in a good old-fashioned plunge.

“We thought we could win the race – and we got the $2.50,” Gary Moore smiled.

Hang On Rob stopped the clock at 20.03 seconds – just over a second slower than Nelly Erskin’s track record, established four years ago.

“The time was very good for a maiden dog, and faster than the other heat,” Moore said.

Hang On Rob was coming off unplaced runs at Richmond back in January when trained by Hagob Tatian at Bonnyrigg.

“Rob (owner) sent him up to us in the bush because the dog wasn’t chasing really well,” Moore said. “We took him to the track and did a bit of education with him. He really learned a lot, and is going great.”

Moree greyhound trainers Gary and Bobby Moore with Hang on Rob after winning the Mick Craig Appreciation Maiden at Tamworth at the weekend (Image Supplied).

Hang On Rob has drawn box three for Saturday’s rich final, with Ron Stanton’s Tractor Sam, winner of last weekend’s first heat in 20.34 seconds, has drawn box six.

Ava’s Milo, a narrow second to Hang On Rob in 20.04 seconds, has drawn box four.

“He’s got ability and we’ll probably head to Sydney in a fortnight, after the Tamworth final. He’s been around the Richmond track, so we’ll look for a race there for him,” Moore said.

The greyhound racing industry in Moree has been at a standstill since GRNSW closed down the local track nearly 12 months ago – and there doesn’t seem to be any light at the back of the kennel.

Other non-TAB bush circuits are also going by the wayside as GRNSW struggles to re-invent the industry.

Gary and Bobby Moore now train a small team, and clock thousands of kilometres chasing the right races.

“We’ve only got three dogs in work at the moment. We haven’t got any tracks nearby anymore, so we haven’t got as many dogs,” Moore said.

“All the country tracks are gone. The nearest is Gunnedah, and that’s two-and-a-half hours away.

“Dubbo’s more than four hours away and Grafton’s four-and-a-half hours away – they’re our nearest tracks now,” he said.

The meeting this Saturday, featuring the  457m Tamworth Cup Final and the 340m Peel Valley Traffic Control Maiden Final, will be the last at the Tamworth track, too, with tentative plans in place to create a new venue with a straight course.

Tamworth Club president Robert Munn thanked industry stakeholders at last Saturday’s 10-race meeting.

“I take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors, owners, trainers and supporters for their support over the years, as we look forward to a brand-new, straight track venue in Tamworth,” Munn said.

Moore said winning races on country tracks was becoming harder and harder, with provincial-grade dogs travelling further out to the bush to win races.

“The country meetings we have now are not really country meetings because bush dogs like ours run into dogs from down the line,” Moore said.

“Provincial trainers have the same thoughts as us – they come to the easier tracks to try and win a race but we have to step up and meet better dogs.”

With the Moree greyhound track now closed indefinitely, the Moores have no option but to clock the miles in search of winnable races.

“If we go and trial or race away from Moree we have to at least travel 1000 kilometres a week,” Moore said.

There’s been talk in recent months about the greyhound industry in Moree resuming – but Moore isn’t holding his breath waiting for GRNSW to arrive at a decision.

“We haven’t had any updates because nobody seems to want to talk to us,” he said.

“GRNSW has a new CEO but we never seem to get anyone, including board members, to come to meetings and talk to us.

“We keep the track here up to scratch so we can work the dogs and trial, but the Moree club only has enough money until about the end of June. After that, we can’t afford to pay rent because we’re not racing,” he said.

Moore says prize money levels between the city and the bush are unacceptably lopsided.

“There’s a race in Sydney over Easter called the Easter Egg, which is worth $300,000 to the winner,” he said

“If we had that sort on money to run greyhound racing over the course of a year in Moree, we’d be a major centre.”

Words: Bill Poulos

Image: Supplied