By David Lewis
AS far as Mount Gambier is concerned, it has been a long and interesting journey for the Mortlake-based greyhound Mick’s Kimmy, now a rising five-year-old with 137 race starts to her name.
In the care of long-time trainer Peter Crawley for all of those starts, she won her maiden at The Meadows over 525 metres in May 2020.
Her next 11 wins have all been at Tara Raceway.
By Barcia Bale, Mick’s Kimmy is out of Mick’s Angel, a stayer of some note who won 12 races and $85,000 in prize money for Hoppers Crossing owner and trainer Faye Craig and Allan Meyer.
Meyer actually made the trip over for the 2018 Mount Gambier Cup distance event with Mick’s Angel, saying at the time his first trip to Tara Raceway had been made in a bid to dodge the million dollar stayer Fanta Bale on Victorian tracks.
The trip proved to be worthwhile after the daughter of Kilty Lad defeated Cryer’s Plugger by three lengths in a time of 43.94 seconds.
Back to Mick’s Kimmy and her second win came at the end of 2020 over 512 metres in a Maiden/One Win event.
Then it was another 12 months before she won again, this time over 600 metres.
It was on Sunday, October 31, 2021, 732-metre racing returned to Tara Raceway – the Jack Trengove trained Criminal winning the first staying race run in two years at the track in a time of 43.76 seconds.
Mick’s Kimmy won her first staying race in early March 2022 when defeating New Year Tears in 43.71 seconds in what turned out to be the lead-up race to what is now known as the Rocks Tavern Feature Distance on Mount Gambier Cup day.
The $1.45 favourite for the feature distance was Emani Bale, trained by Daniel Gibbons, who in 2023 would win the Group 3 Mount Gambier Cup with Titan Blazer.
In what was a terrific race, Emani Bale defeated Mick’s Kimmy by 1¾ lengths in a track-record time of 43.10 seconds.
This lowered Nellie Noodles’ time of 43.45 seconds which had stood since 2011.
Mick’s Kimmy’s time of 43.22 seconds is still the second-fastest 732-metre time recorded at the track.
Fast forward another 12 months and Mick’s Kimmy had won a further six staying races.
She also emulated her dam when winning the feature distance race on Mount Gambier Cup day over Fully Fledged in 44.03 seconds.
The week prior Jervois owner-trainer Wally Harkins had ventured down to Mount Gambier with his cult-status stayer Sir Truculent – a story in itself given at the time the son of Worm Burner and Establish had raced on 126 occasions for 45 wins and $440,000 in prize money.
The rising 5½-year-old pretty well lived up to the hype when defeating Blazing Beth by three lengths in 43.56 seconds.
Then, at the end of April it was the well-bred Under Arrest who took on Mick’s Kimmy.
Trained at Heathcote by Jordan Formosa, Under Arrest is by the US sire Superior Panama out of former champion stayer Sweet It Is who won close to a million dollars on the track.
Having his first run at Tara Raceway, Under Arrest defeated Mick’s Kimmy by 3½ lengths in 43.43 seconds which at the time was the fastest recorded this year at Tara Raceway.
A couple of weeks later the Jason Newman trained Wind Burn Flash also defeated Mick’s Kimmy by 3½ lengths when lowering the fastest time run over 732 metres this year to 43.41 seconds.
But for the former Mortlake postman and his durable stayer the journey still continues after she turned the tables on Wind Burn Flash the following week with a 1¼ length win in 43.80 seconds.