Gwabegar greyhound trainer Eric Butler had three dogs in action at a Gunnedah Greyhound Racing Club twilight TAB meeting last Thursday, one of which was a winner.

Two-year-old black bitch Sunshine Ruby raced to victory in the eighth of 11 races which was the 340-metre grade five Ladbrokes Money Back Odds race.

Sunshine Ruby jumped from box three and quickly established herself as the frontrunner among the field of eight dogs.

It was a lead she would never relinquish, seeing off the Jamie Bush-trained Five Mile Gem (box five) in a fast finish down the home straight.

Sunshine Ruby crossed the finish line first just a head in front of Five Mile Gem to claim the $1500 top prizemoney.

The victory was Sunshine Ruby’s 11th in 22 starts since she raced to a debut win back in April last year.

She has also placed second six times and third once, amounting to 18 top three finishes at a marvellous rate of 82 per cent. She has now earned $11,620 in prizemoney in her short but successful racing career.

There were five more Narrabri Shire-trained greyhounds in action at the meeting on Wednesday, none of which cracked a top three finish.

One of those was Bellata trainer Kevin Campbell’s My Lil Louie which jumped from box eight in race eight and finished fourth, just one-and-a-half lengths behind Sunshine Ruby.

Meanwhile Greyhound Racing NSW released the race dates for the 2020-21 racing year earlier this month as the sport continues to emerge out of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions that have been put in place.

One significant change will see Gunnedah move from the Wednesday slot to Thursdays, making last Wednesday’s meeting its last on that day. Gunnedah will host its first Thursday meet on July 9, then will host three more meetings in July on the 16th, the 23rd and the 30th followed by another on August 6 to make it five meets in as many weeks.

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