Silver Dollars may bring a change of fortune for Corrigan

By Pat McLeod

John Corrigan’s recent shocking run with 'lady luck' may be about to turn full circle.

On Thursday night at Albion Park he is ‘very interested’ to see how his smart young bitch Uno Nangar performs against class company in a heat of the Molly Campbell Silver Dollars over 520 metres.

The age-restricted race boasts a prize pool for next week’s Final of $24,000.

Uno Nangar is one of several very smart youngsters across the three heats who have raised eyebrows with slick performances in recent weeks.

The trainer is the long-time Grafton Greyhound Racing Club president.

“She is strong and looks very promising,” Corrigan said of Uno Nangar.

“Her run home times are very good. I think she is boxed well in the Molly Campbell (box two) and she should acquit herself well. As always, it comes down to luck in running. You put them in the box and hope for the best.

“Her biggest asset is her strength. She has only raced on four occasions, twice at Grafton and twice at Albion Park and she has got to the line nicely on every occasion.

“Her two runs at Albion have been for two wins and on both occasions she didn’t have a lot of luck early.”

Corrigan is certainly due a change of luck.

Over recent years he has always maintained a small kennel of race dogs.

Just two or three.

However, in a three-week period across June and early July this year both his race dogs suffered career-ending injuries, leaving him with an empty race kennel.

But, it wasn’t long before 'lady luck’s' wheel of fortune started to turn.

“A good friend of mine is (respected owner, trainer and breeder) Dennis Barnes,” Corrigan explains.

“Dennis and his wife Ann have been coming to Grafton winter carnival meetings for decades.

“In fact, I knew Ann’s parents Bill and Peg Miller when they would also come up to Grafton meetings when I came there in 1980.

“In recent times Dennis has bought a caravan and left it at the Grafton track for his frequent visits from his base in Cudal (in the Central West region of NSW).

“When he was up for this Grafton winter carnival he had with him a young bitch that he intended racing in our big maiden.

“He found out I no longer had a race dog and he asked me if I wanted another dog (his young bitch, Uno Nangar), and I said ‘yes’. That’s just the sort of person he is.”

Uno Nangar’s track debut was a second in a heat of the Grafton Maiden behind Breakout Boy, who went on to run second in the Final of the prestigious race behind Barefoot Zulu.

Uno Nangar then ran second in another Grafton 450 metre race before Corrigan brought the youngster to Albion Park where she won a maiden on a Monday night over 520 metres.

Then last week ‘in town’ she won a novice 520 metre race by nine-and-a-quarter lengths.

“I never have had one that has won as easy as she did last week on a metropolitan track,” Corrigan said.

Corrigan trained his first winner in 1963.

“She has got the makings of a bitch who will acquit herself well," Corrigan said. 

Although still very young, Thursday night will be a good litmus test for Uno Nangar.

She is in a heat (race eight) with two of the biggest threats in this series – Selena Zammit’s Hoshino and Col Graham’s Hilltop Prince.

Two other big dangers are That’s Nuts (trained by Ryan Ayre) and Golden Bear (Adam Mcintosh) in race seven.

The annual Molly Campbell Silver Dollars series is raced in honour of a woman who produced the greyhound form guide for Queensland and Northern NSW tracks for more than 30 years.

The series does have significance for Corrigan.

“I remember those form guides well from when I first came to Grafton,” Corrigan said.

“They are an important part of the code’s history here.”