At the first Bathurst greyhound meeting since NSW Premier Mike Baird’s controversial back-flip on the greyhound ban, there were two reasons for Orange trainer Joshua Jones to be a happy man.
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After being awarded the rank of favourite in just her second start, Jones’ Mackenzies Run ($2.50) stayed true to the tag in the Ladbrokes Monthly Medal Maiden (450 metres) at Kennerson Park, run on Monday.
After breaking away from strong starter Snow Plough ($11) in the final turn, Mackenzies Run finished just ahead of Action Kid ($6) in a tight finish for first.
With a winning time of 26.44 seconds, it was not Mackenzies Run’s best time at Bathurst – her trial time of 26.05s scored her a place in the final.
But the win is just one of two reasons why the Orange trainer and owner was smiling, after Mr Baird reversed the greyhound ban on October 11.
“Always happy about that [ban-reversal] decision. It was also going to come, but just a matter of how long,” Jones said on Monday.
It was Mackenzies Run’s second start, after a handy debut at Coonamble last month, finishing second over 530 metres.
“We met some good dogs up at Coonamble,” Jones added.
“And to come back to the home track, she [Mackenzies Run] has done well.
“She’s putting along nice in training and she’s quite an excited, full-on little bitch.”
Mackenzies Run comes from a strong litter, with siblings racing in South Australia and Victoria and Jones is not sure of what is next for his bitch, but did hint at a touch of relief at getting the monkey off the back.
“To get that one out of the road is a good start,” he added.