LAST week Morrie Strickland’s kennel star Rewind was named Tasmanian Greyhound of the Year and in Launceston last night (Monday) the dog celebrated by winning the Launceston Cup Consolation.
Rewind missed a berth in the final after copping multiple checks to the first turn in his heat and subsequently pulled up sore.
But Strickland was able to “get him right” in time to produce on of his best wins this preparation.
After the win Strickland revealed plans to head to Sydney at he end of next months for the heats of the Golden Easter Egg at Wentworth Park.
“There’s not much for him here but I think he deserves a shot at the big races interstate and the Easter Egg is on the radar,” Strickland said.
The dog suffered a leg injury when second, beaten a nose, to Dyna Tron in the Group 1 Hobart Thousand in December.
Strickland said he has only just fully cured the problem and that was evident from the dog’s performance in the Launceston Cup Consolation.
Rewind began well from box seven and despite being three-wide at the first turn he was able to force his way to the rail heading down the back stretch.
Once on the lure he sped clear and went on to defeat the Ted Medhurst-trained November Digger by 3-1/2 lengths with that dog’s kennel mate Wicked Magic two lengths away third.
Strickland said he was pleasantly surprised that Rewind was named Tasmanian Greyhound of the Year.
“It was a bit of a shock but a very pleasant one,” he said.
The winner was revealed at the Launceston Cup and Greyhound of the Year dinner that was hosted by the Launceston Greyhound Racing Club in conjunction with Tasracing and held at The TOTE Racing Centre in Launceston last Saturday night.
About 200 attended the dinner and the applause when Rewind was announced as GOTY was testament to the dog’s popularity.
Rewind won the award after winning 22 races and being placed 11 times from his 38 starts across Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales during the year.