Bob May

FRIDAY afternoon was cold and grey, but that didn’t deter an owner from enjoying his first ever visit to the Gawler track, where he was able to share in the success of a syndicate greyhound.
In the first race of the day, a small field of four runners lined up for the grade five/six event over the 643m trip. Tax Deduction (box-four) was the early leader, but shortly after Joint Interest (box-two) went to the front, only to see Shanlyn Haven (box-six) take the lead in the back straight.
Shanlyn Haven looked to be going away with a handy lead, but she has an unfortunate habit of running wide during her races, and this was no different as she drifted wide on the home turn, allowing Joint Interest back into contention.
Joint Interest did hit the front, but in an extremely tight finish, Shanlyn Haven came back to prevail by a neck right on the line.
Joint Interest was second for Kim Johnstone of Two Wells, and Emerley Nera (box-one) was third for Vadim Roz of Moppa.
The winner, Shanlyn Haven, is also trained by Roz, and is owned by the Twenty Twenty syndicate, managed by Ashley Harvie.
The syndicate of seven, which contains three first time owners in greyhound racing, has two greyhounds. One of those new owners is Matt MacDonald, who lives at Naracoorte, and therefore finds it difficult to get to the city to watch a race, and has never been to the Gawler track before.
His wife Brooke was also at the track, and said they were pleased to have had the chance to see a win on such a rare opportunity.
Shanlyn Haven was purchased from Victoria by the syndicate, and has shown some good form since arriving in February under Roz’s care. ‘Tess’ has now chalked up three wins and six placings from 15 starts since moving to SA.
Roz said he has great faith that, even with her wide running habit, Tess can produce a few more wins, particularly over the 600m distance, for the syndicate.
Racing is every Friday and Tuesday afternoon, and the public is welcome, while still observing COVID-19 restrictions.