The heat is on as first sparks fly on summer carnival eve

By Pat McLeod

The start of the 2023 Queensland Golden Greys Summer Racing Carnival may still be a week away, but the embers started to fly at Albion Park on Thursday night.

Five heats of the inaugural running of The Spark over 520 metres were staged and there were also several auditions for next Thursday night’s carnival opening main feature – the $90,000 Flame, Racing Queensland's entry into The Phoenix at The Meadows on December 16.

Ipswich Group 1 Gold Cup runner-up, Grant Franklin’s Get Carter, finalised his Flame preparation with his second win in a row, in a best eight race over 520 metres.

“I did have a plan after the Ipswich Cup to give the dog a week’s rest and then win these two races at Albion Park and make us a contestant in The Flame,” Franklin said.

“I'm pretty sure I have achieved that. And now, hopefully fingers crossed, we can win the Flame and go to Melbourne and have a crack at The Phoenix.”

The Flame field will be announced on Monday and Get Carter wasn’t the only greyhound out to impress at 'The Creek' on Thursday night.

He may not have the same credentials, but Warren Nicholls’ Inconspicuous continued to gain admirers with another class win, in a fourth grade 520 metre race. 

The Orson Allen and Common Ground chaser powered to the line five lengths ahead of Selena Zammit’s Cluster in a smart personal best time of 29.87 seconds.

Zammit’s Daysea’s Rowdy was third.

“I was very happy with that,” Nicholls said after the race.

“He is going to be a very handy pup this one. I have got a really high opinion of him.

“I might be cheeky and throw in a nomination for the Flame next week. Whether he gets in or not is another thing.”

The Spark is a new addition to the summer carnival, with next week’s Final worth $18,500.

Fastest of Thursday night’s heat winners was Loving Smile for NSW Northern Rivers trainer Col Graham.

She saluted in a personal best time of 29.99 seconds, four-and-a-quarter lengths ahead of Warren Nicholls’ Shot Of Red with Rapid Ripple (trained by Michael Lalicz) third.

Loving Smile is a litter sister Graham’s very well performed King Of Aces.

Equally impressive in running was Tony Apap’s heat winner Very Handy (30.38 seconds).

He has now won four and been placed five times in just 10 starts.

“He is a good little chaser who is just starting to put it together after being very green early,” Apap said.

“He was doing a few things wrong, but is learning.

“He is very strong, especially in his run home. Once I saw him leading up the back I was confident that they weren't going to catch him.”

The prolific Tom Tzouvelis kennel slotted into the Final with victory to the experienced Caramel Queen (30.22 seconds) over race favourite Rocklea Earle (Selena Zammit).

“She is a good, honest little dog,” Tzouvelis said of the Fernando Bale and Off And On chaser.

“She is one of those dogs that if she doesn't win, she will most likely run second or third. She has got a remarkable record for finishing in the first three.

“Now, from 63 starts she has 11 wins and 30 placings. So 41 times she has finished in the top three.

“We sent her up north to Tony Parker (Townsville trainer) when she was quite young, just to give her a bit more grounding and he did a really good job with her and she's come back and really kicked on.

“That was a very good little experiment sending her up to Tony, who is a very good trainer.

“She likes Albion Park and she goes well here. She's just one of those dogs who gives you everything every time.”

Also winning through to the Final was Jeff Crawford’s Lost Signal, who scored in 30.21 seconds over Col Graham’s Seven Sinners.

“I was absolutely stoked with his run,” Crawford’s wife Jane said.

Jane handled the dog.

“He is such an honest dog, but just doesn't seem to get the luck," Jane said. 

“He tries and tries so it was great to see him get the result.”

The Crawfords scored a double on the night with Titanium Gunn etching his distance credentials with his first win over the 710 metre trip after seven placings from eight previous attempts over that distance.

The last of The Spark heats went to Darren Russell’s Top Gun, who claimed a seven-and-a-half length win over Balmy Nights (John McCarthy) and Tzouvelis’ I’m Old School, in 30.20 seconds.