What a year 2015 was at Sandown Park.
From the glitz and glamour of our feature function nights to the rise of the legend that is Fernando Bale, it had it all.
Team Ennis kicked off the year in terrific style with their charges Lady Toy and My Bro Fabio taking out the Maidment Memorial and the Australian Sprint respectively.
History was made in April with the running of the revamped Launching Pad. For the first time owners and trainers were required to purchase a ticket, which granted them a guaranteed spot in a heat. Usain I’m Nutty took out the $140,000 first prize for 14-year-old owner Jordan Dailly.
Lamia Bale continued her superior finish to 2014 when she won the group 1 Sapphire Crown. An emotional Collins family were delighted post race as it was their maiden group 1 win after many years in the sport.
The hype surrounding Fernando Bale was at fever pitch heading into the May carnival and he did not disappoint. Fresh off his Golden Easter Egg victory, he strung together two blistering wins at Sandown Park before honing in on the Harrison-Dawson. Fernando Bale became just the second greyhound in history to break the magical 29 second barrier at Sandown Park with a 28.98 win in his heat. He took out the group 1 final at a TAB record short price of $1.04.
A week later, Sweet It Is won her second consecutive RSN Sandown Cup and became the second greyhound in four years to claim back-to-back titles.
Match racing returned to Sandown Park in September with the inaugural running of the Speed Star. The event generated not just talk and hype amongst participants and fans but also attracted new eyes on the sport. New South Wales visitor Smart Missile created history when he won the event with a blistering 29.006 – the third fastest time ever set over 515m at Sandown Park.
The Speed Star was the perfect lead into the Shootout, and it was Speed Star runner-up Kayda Shae who held out the fast finishing Dyna Double One to claim the $50,000 winner-takes-all feature for first time owner Kim Edgar.
The Fernando Bale juggernaut rolled on as he set his eyes on the TAB Melbourne Cup, which would’ve been his swan song if he was to win. Dyna Double One spoiled the party in what was a race for the ages as he defeated Fernando Bale by the barest of margins. It wasn’t the last time we saw Fernando Bale – he made one more appearance at Sandown Park in the final Thursday night meeting of the year which fittingly, he won convincingly.
After five attempts Lithgow Panther broke his group race maiden when he took out the Sir John Dillon Memorial in a hot 33.90, and Fantastic Skye confirmed her status as a future star with an impressive win in the Laurels, to round out our 2015 feature race calendar.
It wasn’t just on the track where all the action happened, it was also off the track where many functions and events took place. The Club’s annual Ladies Night was unsurprisingly one of the highlights, and along with Man’s Night generated thousands of dollars for their respective charities. Kids Night, Vegas Night and the Club Challenge all proved to be another hit, as well as the trainers Christmas party.
The Club would like to thank everyone who has played a part throughout 2015 and looks forward to this year which promises to be the best yet!
