Flying Melbourne Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen has been dynamic on the field during his breakthrough NRL season and he has a greyhound hoping to emulate those ways.
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Papenhuyzen's runner Gary's Gift, trained by Lidsdale's John Chapman, went a long way towards achieve that goal by taking out Monday's Duke's Ladbrokes Heat One (450 metres) at Kennerson Park.
Gary's Gift ($3.70) had a magic moment to add to his Instagram page by leading almost start to finish over the Bathurst run, picking up his third career win in the process.
"He's not a world beater but his owner definitely looks to be," Chapman said.
"It's good to see he's come along and won three races for him so far. With a bit more luck and a couple more of the right kind of races he'll be able to string together a few more.
"It's the first start he's had from that 450 and I've been waiting for a race with this criteria and I've had this one in my sights for a month. Luckily we were in the right heat."
Zipping Jerry got away quickly from the inside box but was quickly snatched up by Gary's Gift from the four.
Gary's Gift survived the squeeze on the opening turn and began to run clear from a chasing Arrogant Ted and Crumps Lil Angel.
The leading trio put over five lengths back to the rest of the field.
Gary's Gift survived a late surge from Crumps Lil Angel ($34) to win by a length, with a further length back to Arrogant Ted ($14).
The winning time was 26.50 seconds.
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