Top southern greyhound racing at Solway

Leading Canterbury chaser Shiraz Royale is a confirmed starter in the $10,000 Tui Breweries New Zealand Racing Series, feature race at the Wairarapa Greyhound Racing Club's TAB meeting at Solway Showgrounds on Sunday.
Trained at Kaiapoi by Paul Freeman, Shiraz Royale is the sole South Island representative in the 545m event and will be having her first start on the Solway track.
Her formline makes impressive reading, including as it does four wins in her last 10 starts and a second placing in the Racing Series final at Addington on September 2.
Impressive as that is, however, it is unlikely that Shiraz Royale will start favourite on Sunday.
Masterton owner-trainer Owen Marron has four runners in the race, Scandivanian, Tighnabruich, Canongate and Tannochbrae, and all of them have strong prospects.
Perhaps the best of them though is Scandanavian, whose win over one of the few greyhounds to have earned more than $100,000 in this country,Thrilling Sam, at Hutt Park recently was an indication of her readiness for this weekend's assignment.
It would be something special though if it was Tannochbrae who did the business for Marron. Back in June he was a surprise winner of the group one New Zealand Breeders Stakes at Wanganui grabbing the $26,000 first prize by jumping to the lead and never being headed.
Tighnabruich is a seasoned campaigner who has raced well at Solway in the past while Canongate is a promising youngster who won't be embarrassed by the rise in class.
Another Masterton-trained greyhound in the Racing Series is Go Pearl Go who has been racing most consistently for Val Jackson. She has successfully mixed sprint and middle distance racing and has the early pace to get a nice passage going into the often decisive first bend.
Completing the Racing Series line-up will be a past winner at Solway in Cruzmore and Blue Moon Magic, both of them noted front runners. Cruzmore has won at Solway in the past and her recent form has been solid.
Sunday's meeting will feature 11 races in all, the first of them starting at 12.20pm, and sure to attract interest will be the Seeds and Cereals Wairarapa Hurdles where last season's Wairarapa Cup winner on the flat, Aranuijazz, will square off against Chippewa Brave, who tends to reserve his best efforts or Solway.
Waikato trainer Carol Morris will venture south with a powerful team and could chalk up wins with class one sprinters Ima Freeman and Hello Sailor while Manawatu club president Leigh Bell will be expecting big things from her higher graded sprinters Jo Jo Sam and Turbo Royale.
A detailed preview of Sunday 's meeting will be published in Saturday's Times-Age..