Bob May

AN extra dose of persistence and patience paid off for Paralowie trainer June Sharpe at Gawler greyhounds this past Wednesday afternoon, with Aston Whitney racing home after a long road to the boxes.
Running in a grade six event over the 400m trip, Aston Whitney (box seven) established an early lead over Breakfast Creek (box two).
Aston Whitney extended the early lead out to two lengths, before Breakfast Creek started to gradually gain ground nearing the bend.
Entering the home straight, Aston Whitney held off the challenge to score a good win by just over a length, with Breakfast Creek unable to improve on its run.
Sharpe was a happy trainer after the win by Aston Whitney, which is owned in SA by Ray Borda, who she was introduced to nine years ago on the recommendation of leading trainer Troy Murray.
Aston Whitney had two starts in Victoria without success before it was decided to send her to Sharpe’s kennel.
After acquiring the greyhound, she said her judgement was that the dog required a lot of attention to her legs and muscles, and when finally presented in her first race in SA at Gawler, she was successful.
However, by running 23.80 secs in winning, Sharpe said that was the slowest maiden winner she had ever had, but remained optimistic about the chance of improvement.
Sharpe said ‘Whitney’ was a good box dog, and had led in all of her races.
Remarkably, she has had three starts from box seven at Gawler and won all three, which Sharp has put down to the extra work and attention that can be given in a small kennel.
Whitney’s progress has been staggering, as her winning time on Wednesday was 23.06 secs, a massive improvement of about 11 lengths on her first win.
Racing at Gawler will continue on Wednesday afternoons and Sunday nights, with the public now permitted to attend the track after restrictions were lifted yesterday.