"I felt some of that old magic at Star Pelaw" - Underdogs Launch Night

Pelaw launches Underdogs for Louise Powell

Thursday night at Star Pelaw saw a night dedicated to the launch of Underdogs, the debut novel from Louise Powell. Sunshine brought the crowds outside while Powell herself helped bring in a restaurant full.

10 races were run on the card, with a number of well supported winners which generated plenty of excitement from the crowd in attendance. Nine different trainers picked up winners on the night with Jason Smith the only handler to pick up more than one success. 

The most impressive winner on the evening was a newcomer to the track, Mitches Marra for David Alcorn. He had shown no more than a modicum of ability in a pair of races at Waterford and on those and his three trials at Star Pelaw, an A5 starting point looked tough enough. As it happened, he found his trapping boots and a clean sight of the bunny saw him leave his rivals for dead.  

When looking back on the night, Powell said, "It was an absolute privilege to celebrate the publication of my flapping novel Underdogs at Star Pelaw. I've visited the track many times to watch a schooling pup or enjoy the racing, and I would often jot down ideas for the novel between races. It therefore meant a lot to be able to bring many family, friends and colleagues to the track.

"The restaurant was packed out with people aged 6-88 from London, Blackpool, Sheffield, County Durham and Middlesbrough, with independent Collected Books also in attendance. Many of the visitors were first-timers at the dogs, and were bowled away by how well the greyhounds looked and the excitement of seeing them race. 

"There was also high praise for the quality of the food and the kindness of the staff. I can't thank Kim, Dave, Debbie and the rest of the staff enough for all of their hard work in giving us a night we'll never forget.

"I wrote Underdogs as a testament to the strength of community found at flapping tracks, and thanks to the hard work of so many people, I felt some of that old magic at Star Pelaw.

"As a marker of the night's success, several attendees have already told me that they'll be visiting Star Pelaw again!"

Kim Sanzone, head of greyhound racing operations at Star Sports said, "Star Pelaw were thrilled to be chosen to host the launch of 'Underdogs' and delighted on how successful it was for Louise. There has been a lot of interest and anticipation regarding the book from the local community and the team at the track as well as Ben and Star Sports hope it is a best seller for her."

Powell will be at Newcastle Greyhound Stadium next week in association with New Writing North via their prestigious Right to Read programme. Details cane be found on this link.