By Jordan Gerrans
In her more than four decades around the greyhound code, Leanne Hall never felt the need to attend a Greyhound of the Year awards ceremony.
She is glad she finally did in early 2022.
Hall has been around the game for much of her life, her father trained in Victoria and Queensland, and now she prepares dogs in partnership with her husband, Graham.
In her over 40 years of involvement, she has had some top dogs, but nothing like the litter sisters she has now - Spotted Elk and Extra Malt.
They were the reason the Halls attended the 2021 TAB Queensland Greyhound of the Year awards evening and they returned to their Marburg kennel late on Friday evening with a swag of awards.
“I will certainly be coming back next year,” Leanne said with a laugh after Spotted Elk was crowned Greyhound of the Year.
That was the last of several awards the team claimed on Friday night at the Gabba - the site of where the Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club first held races.
Spotted Elk beat out her litter sister Extra Malt for the top prize, while Extra Malt won the Run of the Year Award for her outstanding effort at Albion Park on October 28, as well as the Brisbane Greyhound of the Year.
“There is no words to describe it, it has been great,” Leanne said.
“It is wonderful to win Greyhound of the Year.
“It has been worthwhile to come to the awards for the first time.
“It has been very amazing what these dogs have done, we have been in it for 40 years and it has been a long apprenticeship, when you get the right dogs, it is just great.”
Claiming a swag of awards like the kennel did gives the Halls an opportunity to reflect on all their hard work every day with the dogs to make it all possible.
“It is just what we do, we love it,” Leanne said.
The highlight of the Halls' year was Spotted Elk winning the first-ever edition of the Listed Queensland Flame, which landed her a spot in the $1.145 million TAB The Phoenix at The Meadows, where she would run an excellent second at big odds.
In just her debut season of racing, Spotted Elk established herself as the state’s most promising chaser in 2021, recording 16 wins and 10 placings from 35 starts last year.
Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club CEO Luke Gatehouse believes the annual awards evening is a key part of the greyhound industry.
“Coming to the greyhound awards every year, it is a highlight for participants and administrators and support staff,” Gatehouse said.
“It is a great celebration of our industry.
“It is a great time to reflect on what was achieved in 2021.
“We had some great race dogs and we had some wonderful female greyhounds, who have dominated racing this year, with three female greyhounds nominated for Greyhound of the Year this year.”
RQ CEO Brendan Parnell echoed Gatehouse’s comments.
“It is an awesome night for greyhound racing's stars,” Parnell said.
“We all come here to celebrate the great greyhounds and participants.
“What a year it has been, it has been a great year to celebrate with some new events and new parts of the Golden Greys carnival to celebrate, as well.”
Another major winner on the evening was Coominya-based trainer Bianca Whitford, who walked away with the Brisbane Trainers Strike Rate Award for her consistent campaign.
The former Victorian-based trainer has moved her kennel to the Sunshine State over the last three years and is now reaping the rewards.
Headlined by the efforts of star dog Ninetymile King, the Whitford team trained at 37 per cent when they took their runners to Albion Park.
Whitford was a proud trainer to claim the award on Friday evening.
“I am pretty honoured to be honest, we have not been up here long so this is our first full season of training so to win an award like this is pretty special,” Whitford said.
“We only have a small team; we pride ourselves on our quality.
“We pride ourselves on every dog going to the races with a great chance of winning, we will not compromise on that or their preparation.
“They are ready to fire when they go to the races.”
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