By DAVID BRASCH

Group 1 Peter Mosman Opal (520m)

Wentworth Park

Heats July 4. Final July 11

Bitches whelped on or after March 1, 2018

Winner $75,000

Group 1 Vic Peters (520m)

Wentworth Park

Heats July 4. Final July 11

Dogs whelped on or after March 1, 2018

Winner $75,000

GBOTA general manager Steve Noyce is used to kicking goals.

As CEO of the West Tigers and Sydney Roosters he took those clubs to NRL premierships.

He spent five years at the Sydney Turf Club learning the ropes of successfully running racing.

And, in the past year as boss at the GBOTA, he has been behind some great successes.

He\’s the first to admit that during the Covid woes facing the world, greyhound racing\’s highlights have been ‘up in the air’.

So, when GRNSW announced in June Group prizemoney funding had been approved, Steve could breathe a sigh of relief.

\”Of course we needed that support from GRNSW,\” said Steve.

For owners and trainers around the country, it meant the up-coming Group 1 features, the Vic Peters and Peter Mosman Opal would go ahead and retain their Group 1 prizemoney.

\”We have been receiving calls from all states about the two race series,\” said Noyce.

And, while prizemoney levels remain the same for those two races, Steve is just as confident owners and the public will get to cheer on those races trackside.

\”We have hooked onto the shirt tails of the NRL and the thoroughbred industry,\” said Noyce. \”The NRL and the horses are confident of having crowds back by July and that would mean so will greyhound racing.\”

The Vic Peters was won in 2019 by superstar Feral Franky, while Victorian Start A Riot came north to win the Peter Mosman Opal.

Noyce was high in praise of greyhound racing participants and the way they accepted the restrictions to racing during the Covid lockdown.

\”With that in mind, we ran a number of \’thank you\’ races at Wentworth Park worth $10,000 each,\” he said.

Noyce\’s year at the GBOTA has given him great respect for those in the greyhound racing industry.

\”In all walks of life, if you treat someone with respect they will appreciate that,\” he said. \”I have found 98 percent of people in greyhound racing are fantastic people.\”

The Vic Peters has a long and glorious history.

It has been won by some of the greats of greyhound racing, and many of those have gone on to famous careers at stud.

They include Go Wild Teddy, Bobniak, Nitro Burst, Spring Gun, Zambora Brockie and in more recent times Ando\’s Mac, Deliver and Feral Franky.

The Peter Mosman Opal was previously open to both sexes.

It has been won by superstars like Fernando Bale, Xylia Allen and Surf Lorian, but also by Over Flo, Solve The Puzzle and the great Queenslander Worthy Reward, and in more recent times by Mister Twister, Buck Forty, Bessy Boo, Tommy Brislane, etc.