By Alex Nolan
Trainer Dallas Beckett has praised the new Bundaberg Greyhound track following the first meeting held on Saturday since Racing Queensland completed a major renovation to the course.
Following stakeholder feedback, RQ removed the existing track and laid new turf to provide a safer and more competitive racing surface for greyhounds.
Rockhampton-based Beckett, a regular visitor to the Bundaberg circuit, said the new track was in stark contrast to the previous surface.
“I thought it raced great,” he said.
“I think the old track was tired and there were a couple of sections that needed resurfacing.
“I made a point of walking out onto the track before the first race. I think the track is a lot firmer now and grass has knitted well.”
The project to lay the new turf was completed in August, before Racing Queensland infrastructure applied a top-dressing to help the turf bind and ensure the most even surface possible before racing returned.
“They are still kicking up some sand due to the top-dressing but they will end up running some fast times there,” Beckett said.
Beckett trained two winners at the meeting on Saturday including his talented two-year-old bitch Trip Dancer, who he has earmarked as a potential Rockhampton Cup hopeful.
“I’ve had her since she was 14 months old and she was the worst pick in the litter (Fabregas x Light Fantastic). Mind you, there’s not a lot between them … she’s flying at the moment,” he said.
All six of the litter to race are multiple winners, including the Jason Fletcher-trained Fantastic Hope, which put a 5.75L gap on her rivals in a Grade 5 over 520m (30.09sec) at Dapto last Thursday.
“Trip Dancer put a space on them down at Bundy (over 460m) on the weekend and I think the further she goes the better she’ll go,” Beckett said.