Family proud to recognise Molly Campbell every year in the Silver Dollars

By Jordan Gerrans

Molly Campbell would have been filled with pride when trainers such as Jedda Cutlack and Brent Kline won the series named in her honour in recent years.

That is the view of her granddaughter – current greyhound trainer Susan Harris – as the Molly Campbell Silver Dollars returns for another year on  Thursday evening at Albion Park.

The series is named in recognition of Campbell’s contribution to the code over her lifetime, with the family involved in a number of aspects of the sport till this day.

The Molly Campbell Silver Dollars series is for greyhounds under 27 months of age, with two heats to be run this week, before the Final seven days later.

As Harris details, the entire idea behind the series was for little-known trainers with only a small number of dogs aiming to win a feature race.

It is for the “battlers’, she says.

And, while Cutlack and Kline are not exactly battlers in training ranks in 2022, they have risen through the grades following their Silver Dollars triumph.

Cutlack won the race last year with Showdown while Kline picked it up back in 2016 with Isla's Style.

“It is nice when that happens, it helps unearth the next up-and-coming trainer,” Harris said.

“Hopefully it gives the little trainer half a chance to win it.”

Race caller John Brasch detailed the significance of the time-honoured Molly Campbell Silver Dollars series.

“Campbell and the family produced the greyhound form guide for all the Queensland tracks and into Northern NSW for over 30 years, until they sold the business off to the greyhound authorities at the time,” Brasch said.

“They became available at that stage, as we know now, on the internet.

“So we honour Molly’s memory each and every year with the Silver Dollars.”

While big name trainers with large operations have won the series regularly in recent years, the spirit of the event is for lesser lights.

“The reason that this series started was for the battler trainers,” Harris said.

“There is countless races for the top quality trainers and dogs, but all of my family, they were about fifth grade dogs, or the maidens, or dogs that just struggle.

“They wanted to put on races for these kind of trainers and dogs.

“These days, it ends up being the top trainers with the fastest dogs winning it mostly, but the idea behind it is that the little trainers were a chance.”

Campbell passed away in July of 1998.

The race is run as the Molly Campbell Silver Dollars at Albion Park these days, but it has evolved over time.

“It started off as the “Silver Collar” at Capalaba and it was a bitches race,” Harris explained.

“The year before my grandmother died, we changed it to Albion Park and it became the “Silver Dollars”.

“My father liked coins, that is where the coins came in, and that is why we have the Gold Sovereign as well.

“He liked coins, they were his hobby he had and it made it stand out, because everyone has trophies or medallions, but Dad had coins.

“Mum continues with it since Dad died and it is a special thing we still do.”

The family is steeped in greyhound history.

Capalaba run the William "Billy" Harris memorial race at Capalaba.

Billy was Susan’s father before his passing in 2019.

The Col Harris Gold Sovereign is also run annually at Ipswich, which is named after Billy’s brother.

It is a proud moment for the family every year when the Silver Dollars rolls around, just like the other races named in family members' honour.

Before Billy’s passing, he had a few dogs run in heats of the Silver Dollars but could not make it through to the Final.

Susan, who has a handful of greyhounds in work at Greenbank as well as a few she is pre-training, is aiming to win the series one day.

“We are very proud every year when it comes around,” Harris said.

“My grandmother would be pleased to know it is still going.

“I have never had in a dog in it myself but I plan to one day.

“I will get there.”

To be raced at Listed level, two heats of the Silver Dollars will be run on Thursday night.

With three from her kennel across the two heats on Thursday, Jemma Daley is an up-and-coming trainer that would be a worthy winner in the spirit of the series.