First Lady To End Frazer's Decade City Drought

IT'S been a decade since Garry Frazer has tasted success at Wentworth Park but the dual code trainer is confident the well-bred First Lady can put an end to that drought on Saturday night.

Clarendon-based Frazer, who in the thoroughbred world has reached group 1 glory during a decorated training career, has dabbled in greyhound training in an on and off capacity for decades.

And while he's rugged up limited runners at the famed Glebe circuit in the past 10 years, Frazer said a victory with First Lady in Saturday night's Happy New Year All Female Final (520m) would be a fitting way to punctuate 2023.

FIELDS AND FORM WENTWORTH PARK SATURDAY NIGHT

"Time flies doesn't it – my last Wentworth Park winner was Intimidator Jake way back in 2013," Frazer said.

"I haven't had a lot of runners in that time since but it would be great to finish off the year with a victory on Saturday night.

"And she's got a good chance, too. In her trial before last week's heat she went 17.90 up the back which is flying and I was happy with her run the other night as well.

"I'd love to draw a box with her though. She seems to live in the middle boxes and she's got five again on Saturday night. She's had no luck there."

Saturday night's $6,000-to-the-winner finale has assembled a top field of female sprinters after the staging of two heats last Friday.

Having her first official Wentworth Park start, First Lady finished 1 ½ lengths third in a rough and tumble affair won by the wayward Subzero Sonya.

Before last week's Wentworth Park debut, First Lady, a daughter of the great Fernando Bale and top producer Good Odds Meghan, was beaten at tomato sauce odds at Dapto.

"Total mystery that run," Frazer said.

"All I can put it down to is that the crowd being so close at Dapto put her off that night. I won't be heading back there with her anytime soon."

If First Lady continues her upward rise in the next fortnight a potential berth in the Group 1 National Futurity series looms large for the blueblood chaser.

For Frazer, his lifelong passion for greyhound racing was reignited back in 2012 when obtaining his trainers licence following a lengthy sabbatical. 

“I was diagnosed with diabetes back in 2012 and the doctor told me I needed plenty of exercise,” Frazer said.”At the time I gave it a bit of thought and I wasn't keen to go walking on my own so I decided to buy a couple of greyhounds and exercise them the old fashioned way.”

Back in March, Frazer enjoyed the remarkable feat of training Rita May to victory at the Warwick Farm thoroughbred meeting a mere hour before his greyhound Misled scored at Richmond.