The stuff of which dreams are made would aptly describe Friday night’s winning bonanza – in every sense of the word.  Norahmac members might do well to have a tickle on the lottery this weekend as ‘lady luck’ is smiling down on our merry band.

A fantastic Friday full of fabulous results. All race winners benefited from not only a trophy but also Michael Church’s now legendary Greyhound Derby wallchart as well as £30 ‘windfall’ bonus from the surplus prize money fund.

One of our most esteemed members found his ‘jackpot syndicate’ holding the solitary ticket left for the £3,000 pool relying on none other than… Horse Outside to bring home the bacon in the final leg.

The bookies marked our black and white lad at a ‘complimentary’ 7-4 jolly and Gino really made no mistake. An above average start had him in the front rank at the first bend, he switched around the narrow leader entering the back straight (a manoeuvre that would have knocked a few spots off his eventual time) which left our hero with a clear run. And as is now usual from our top grader he simply powered on, leaving the field trailing by over four lengths at the line.

With the going allowance -.10 Gino has again broken the mystical 29.00 barrier with a calculated clocking of 28.91 – and is the clubs first A1 winner!

With our esteemed jackpot winner carrying a smile as broad as a cheshire cat it was off to the podium for a jubilant, and bumper, crew of norahmac members.

Remember too that Gino’s race carried an additional £150 ‘bounty’ so, in all, nearly £300 in prize money plus the trophy and Derby Wallchart – quite a haul!

Half an hour later Oscar (Oscar Lima) – at 3-1 and more of a  working man’s price was seeking to provide a norahmac double. With members feeling flushed with success, Oscar’s winning chance took on a positive perspective and the frame of the race now seemed to signal ‘every chance.’

A decent break and a clear run round the first bend left him with chances if he could make his staying power tell. Challenging wide he looked to have the race at his mercy but could only go head to head with his main rival in the run-in. From our angle on Norah’s Knoll we all thought we were beaten and were beginning to head home – albeit with any number of betting vouchers still clutched in hand.

The photo was announced and, to our amazement Oscar had nicked it by a short head! So it was off to collect another trophy, another wallchart and another extra £30!

The above events were preceded by a couple of noteworthy successes for club members with their own runners:

Our ‘jackpot’ winner had already landed the £500 Owners Bonus Final with his Edies Legacy – a short-head winner in a titanic battle up the home straight.

Coolavanny Kayla, owned in a syndicate by several club members, showed her first time out success was no fluke with a virtual trap to line success in a very healthy time of 29.57.  The first bend amateur bookie had his blushes spared as no-one availed themselves of the 3-1 he was laying pre-race about the May ’10 pup.

All in all quite a night. Pictures and videos will be displayed on the website in due course. The wallchart will be a prize in a Christmas raffle – check back for details, and we’ve now something like four trophies on display in the owners room!

However challenging those first few months were – it’s fair to say norahmac club members have hit the jackpot this autumn.

Footnote:

It’s all too obvious that greyhound racing and in particular Wimbledon stadium is suffering in the current economic climate. So I think it’s worth noting the good work and good spirit, in the face of these somewhat difficult times, of the WGOA crew who put together a really great night for us all to enjoy.

Update: Fleetwood Rocker makes the hat-trick with a strong display winning his A2 on Saturday and completing back to back victories – and a terrific treble for the club this weekend.

Well done if you had the treble – then £49.50p was a tasty return for a £1 stake!