BREEDING GROUND – IS DURABILITY A THING?

The  connection between track safety and race longevity is not seriously disputed. Former Star vet John Kohnke wrote on numerous occasions about the connection between injuries and inadequate nutrition. Efficient injury detection and treatment is a major factor. But is ‘breeding durability’ even a thing? – writes Floyd Amphlett.

Anyone studying American bloodlines would be in no doubts. While British and Irish breeders will fall over themselves to use a stud dog who has broken as many bones as track records, American breeders are a lot more circumspect.

America’s top current sire Superior Panama had 97 races. Sh Avatar, currently no.2 and sire of the likes of Scottish Derby runner-up Dropzone and Grand National winner Bobbing Gnavatar, had 105. Kinloch Brae raced 72 times in the USA before becoming the most successful American import ever.

Yet Ireland’s outstanding sire of the current era, Droopys Sydney, raced only once before breaking down. There is zero evidence that he has passed on any soundness traits, though that label has been associated with certain stud dogs in the past. ‘He throws wristy pups’, ‘His progeny don’t stay sound’.

So why the disparity between American and European thinking of breeding soundness?

It is a complex issue with various contributory factors. The main one is prize money.

In the American system it is more lucrative to keep your greyhound on the track than retire him for stud purposes. High grades at the top tracks was where the money was at. Big Stakes mattered too, but nowhere near as much as they do in Europe.

Also, the sheer geography of the country means that brood bitches are far less likely to be sent state to state for matings. Sires are relatively less valued because of it. ‘You might have a very good stud dog but I’m not sending my brood bitch 4,000 miles for a mating’.

While everyone wants fast greyhounds, slightly slower ones that can run 150-200 races could be worth just as much, particularly if you get a litter of them.

But is durability as much down to luck as bloodlines?

The problem is, there are so many factors involved involved in a greyhound’s career that luck must inevitably play its part. How good is the running surface that he appears on? How competent is his trainer at preventing and treating injuries?

I’m not going to attempt to apply figures to this subject. It would take a supercomputer to computate all the variables, but I will just throw something out there that might possibly get you thinking.

In the last month, two greyhounds have passed the 200 race mark: Yarmouth’s Lu Lu My Baby and Newcastle’s A Bit Of Beauty. Both are British bred. Now there is a theory that British breds tend to be more gently schooled than Irish litters since most British breds are not destined for sale. It is a huge generalisation, and in any case, this pair both qualified at 15 months old. But are there any other similarities between them?

Lu Lu My Baby is a September 2015 whelp which means she was seven years and three months old when she ran her last race. She is by the durable American sire Kinloch Brae out of Pam Cross’s Riverside Lucy (Cashen Legend-Riverside Trixie). If that prefix rings any bells, it should because the dam line belongs to Graham and Nicky Holland and traces back to the brood who they took to Ireland and helped set them on the map, One For Tarbert.

Here is the intersting bit. Riverside Lucy has produced two litters. The Kinloch Brae’s also included Nostringsattached (143 races), Shes Wild (136) and Feel The Heat (131).

So a lucky litter?

The following litter, August ’16s by Farneys Cookie (who contested 115 races from two to six bends) includes No Place For Me (193) Wind Up Matey (159), Me Me Me (156), Take My Advice (143), Thats The Deal (125) and Black Delilah (110) several of which, including No Place For Me, are still racing. Lucy managed less than 60 races but her dam also threw Riverside Sherry (156), Peelers Blue (156), Carmarsal Belle (103).

Yes Pam Cross must take much of the credit for the length of the careers. But I have known Pam since we both paraded our dogs at Yarmouth in the late 1970s, and in general, her dogs don’t race longer than anyone else’s.

(Though she did once train a dog called Whole Day who didn’t make his racing debut until he was four and went on to contest an East Anglian Derby Final!)

A Bit Of Beauty (Ballymac Vic-A Bit OF Glory) is up to 202 races for breeder and trainer Stuart Ray.

Litter sister A Bit Of Red was retired after 112 runs. Then there was A Bit Of Sas (105) and A Bit Of Eugene (100) as the four most prolific members of the litter.

But rather like Riverside Lucy, A Bit Of Glory (Killahan Phanter-Blackhouse Molly) had always thrown pups who were as tough as teak.

To Farloe Blitz there was A Bit Of Farloe (135), A Bit Of Mayhem (119) and Abitofa Mistrel (135). To Pinpoint Maxi, A Bit Of Neville (188) and A Bit Of Percy (96) were the most prolific. There were only two pups from the Vans Escalade litter: A Bit Ofa Breeze (128) and A Bit Of Gold (117).

Still not convinced? Well here are a few of the other progeny thrown by Blackhouse Molly: Blackhouse Luigi (222), The Moppitt (196), Mollies Frankie (192), Mollies Ronnie (181), Shazzababbaroo (181), Butidontdrink (174), Mollies Bonnie (174), Mollys Johnny (172), Blackhouse Jay (157), Mollys Clyde (157). . . plus another seven offspring with between 100-150 races.

So is it a thing?