27 Aug 2019

A Speedhound, Valentine, from Abel kennels won the open male dog race at the just ended National Agricultural Show held at Sebele over the weekend.

The dog race, which generated a lot of excitement among attendants, saw Valentine finishing ahead of Quick Silver despite the latter’s victory in the heats.

Valentine turned the tables in the finals to eclipse Quick Silver in a hotly contested race.

Although the Mmopane based Valentine is still acclimatising to local conditions, the owner, Kgopolo Abel said he was confident that his dog was still going to rule the track. Valentine is from South Africa. 

He revealed that Valentine could not compete in Ghanzi because it was only three days in the country.

Quick Silver, which has been a favourite to many, finished second while Strider finished in the third spot.

In the open females category, Falcon Kennels ruled the tracks as their two dogs, Tracer and Sonic, scooped position one and two respectively.

This did not come as a surprise because they made their intentions known during the heats as they dominated in their respective races.

The two dogs gave each other a tough time in the final, but it was the well-built Tracer which tracked its way to the podium, thanks to its take-off and endurance.

Their trainer, Andre Van Zyl, said Sonic would be a force to reckon with in the future given its performance despite being a newbie. Position three went to Tracy.

In the under 18 months category, Zigorro scooped position one while in the under 12 category, Strong Guy emerged the winner.

The race organiser, Kebone Sephatsa, pointed out that unlike in the past where speedhounds were associated with poaching, locals were now embracing the sport as they had started investing in it.

He said the growth was also evidenced by the high number of dogs they continued to register during races. Ends