by David Mitchell – @davidjmitch
Any greyhound owner knows that things don’t always go to plan in this sport. There will be ups and downs, the key is to take the rough with the smooth and not throw your toys out the pram when things don’t go as you would like them.
Captain Dynamite (Rob as he’s known in the kennel) was a case in point last week. His debut over 715m at Sandown had been outstanding, nearly ten lengths separated him from the runner-up and justifiably we went into the Sandown Cup heats in high spirits.
Captain Dynamite (2) debuts over 715m
Sadly an issue as they approached the third bend saw him unable to stride out, with subsequent examination revealing a number of minor niggles. He will be back soon enough and after just ten races in his life, he is still very much one to look forward to.
A winner of five of those ten starts and already with $18,200 in prize money to his name, owning him has been a dream venture up to this point. He has looked the part since day 1 and we count ourselves extremely fortunate that Kel Greenough allowed us to buy into such a classy hound.
He’s won from one, two, three, five and eight, the last of those a fine piece of trackcraft from one so inexperienced. That was his third career success and while his sub 30-second win at The Meadows was eye-catching, it was that Sandown success that really put him on the radar.
A 595m success at the first time of asking was pleasing at the time but the subsequent hunt by the track, failing to find any greyhound who had a quicker run home time over that distance made it remarkable.
The run home time is from a spot on the third bend of a four bend race, slow down a replay and you can see a little marker on the wall. That addition is one of the fascinating differences between us and them. That can show us the difference between a true six-bend dog and one who shapes as if they’ll stay but is just picking up short runners.
Even with that run home time, it was still a little bit of a surprise to see Kel suggest a Group 1 event over 715m. He is clearly well thought of at home and will improve for that experience. We can’t wait to see him back on track with something like the Group 1 Speedstar (a match race competition) looking ideal for him.
Initially we bought a pair of bitches in Australia, Blue Tick Erin and Blue Tick Fern. Erin is yet to set foot on a track in anger having had a couple of issues. A February ‘18 whelp, she’s a litter sister to Buster The Brute. Buster was third to the exceptional Simon Told Helen in the Group 1 Perth Cup before runner-up in the Western Australian Derby to Catch The Thief.
Fern was our first runner in Australia, kicking off in a maiden bred competition just before Christmas. She missed it by a hair in the final, just unable to wriggle clear before finishing fourth. One of the pair to dead heat for second was the aforementioned Catch The Thief so she was very much pitched in the deep end.
We have also been lucky enough to buy into Fern’s litter brother, One Night Only. He’s shown himself to be a smart prospect himself, a May ‘18 whelp, he’s won five of his first fifteen starts, a perfect five for five when drawn one, two or three.
He’s one where we will always be needing some luck in the draw but he shapes as if he will stay a little further. Another victory will allow us to step him up in trip to Sandown’s 595m. An inside draw over that trip with a short run to the bend should see him add plenty to his win tally, another exciting prospect!
We are always on the lookout for new opportunities both in the UK and Australia. Matt Newman and I are making a conscious decision to try to invest in bitches with a view to breeding our own Blue Tick litters.
We have Blue Tick Delia in Ireland at present with Jaxx Kennels, she’s Ballymac Vic X Droopys Danneel, a repeat mating of the Dorotas Wildcat, Forest Natalee litter.
We also have three unraced pups who will be ready to roll later in 2020, a pair from an Eden The Kid ex Queen Paloma, March ‘19 litter. Paloma is a litter sister to King Elvis, out of Skate On. That same cross threw King Sheeran, King Lennon and Queen Beyonce and these two certainly look the part.
Most recently we picked up a Droopys Sydney ex Slippy Maska pup. She’s 30 kilos and is just coming up to a year old so is a little behind the others but she’s got plenty about her.
Kel knows that we are in a position to buy again with him if he has anything come along at a suitable standard. We are hugely fortunate that we have such a passionate bunch of owners and have not had to go outside our current syndicate to make any of those purchases.
We have a list of interested parties in our Twitter DM’s waiting for the next purchase in Australia if there are shares available. All I can say is watch this space as when one does become available, the shares won’t last long.
In fact, Captain Dynamite and One Night Only took less than a week between them to sell out, a remarkable interest in having dogs 10,000 miles away. A testament to the fact that the Australian model has it right, we can only pray it isn’t too late to save it over here!
