The KSS Syndicate can measure their Category One successes in the dozens. Every one has its own story. But when Liz and Rab McNair recall the 2023 bet365 Hunt Final, it won’t be because they sent out the tricast. Nor will it signal the end of the ‘Oxford traps fiasco’. It will be about doing something special for a deserving lady.
Here is a reminder of how it went
The story of the decider actually begins a few hours earlier when Rab arrived for kenneling. He was on his own. Liz was at home dealing with two recently born litters. With three runners in the decider, Rab was short-handed. He was approached by Wayne Mazey who runs the local homefinding scheme with his wife, ‘also a Liz’.
Rab said: “Wayne asked me if I needed a hand and I was grateful for it. He realised that we had three in the final and asked if he could give Liz a call to lend a hand. He explained that Liz had had quite a serious health issue and it would be something she would love to do.
“When Liz turned up before the race she was so excited. I handed her (favourite) Havana Lover to parade and I could see she was a bit taken aback. I told her not to be nervous and told her that her pet name was ‘Lovable’.
“Obviously it was a great race for the kennel and when we got to the pick-up, Liz went to hand Lover back. I told her to do no such thing, I wanted her to take Lover for the presentation. She was nearly in tears. She was giving little cuddles on the way to the winning line and kept saying ‘this is so wonderful, thank you so much'”
Poor Wayne was left with washing off of the kennel’s other two runners and the winner received a fabulous welcome from the vocal home crowd.
As a kennelhand for Maurice Massey, it was a night that Wayne Mazey never expected to see.
He said: “I met Liz and introduced her to greyhound racing about six months before the track closed. We were involved in the local re-homing scheme then and are doing it again since the track re-opened. Liz also comes up for race meetings and helps out the trainers when they are double handed. She was quite taken aback by the whole night.”
Rab said: “It was great to win the race and the dogs run so well, but seeing such a lovely lady, who has been through such a tough time made the whole night extra special for me. I gave her a few bob for parading with the instruction that she had to take Wayne out for a nice meal. It really was a fabulous night.”
Evie Openshaw, Liz Mazey & Rab McNair
With the Cat One events coming thick and fast, the KSS Syndicate operation is heavily reliant on gettings its logistics right.
Rab said: “I did give some thought to running a couple at Sunderland (Grand Prix) but it was on the same nights as the Hunt Cup and I am the only driver. While Brendan (Keogh) can arrange to get a driver for Liz, she has the pups to look after and we can’t afford for her to be away from the kennel for all that time. Whoever went to Sunderland would be leaving at 10 o’clock.
“So we have to put in a bit of planning where to send the dogs. At this stage I’m planning to send Havana Bale Out, Queen Pink and King Ezra to Sheffield for the Three Steps To Victory.
“I think all of them will be capable of qualifying from the 480 and 500 and then we’ll see how they go over the 660. I’ve decided to bring Queen Pink back to staying distances. She didn’t stay in the Television Trophy but then she didn’t run the track. You never knew with these things until you try. I thought she might adapt to Crayford but she never did. For some reason, running Romford and running Crayford well are two completely different issues.
“Havana Lover, Havana Top Note and Havana Allago will probably go to Crayford for the Kent St.Leger. We can do both because Sheffield is on Tuesdays and Crayford on Saturdays.
“Fromposttopillar is due to trial in a sprint at Hove on Thursday. He will then have a 500 before we send him over to Towcester to trial before the Derby.”
Regular readers will recall the tale of a little brindle bitch who was causes pulses to race at Jeff Sealey’s Bicester schooling track.
At the time, Rab couldn’t recall her racing name. We can now reveal that she is called Queen Joni and she went from the Central Park traps for the first time on Friday.
While the time of 16.98 seems astonishing enough for a December pup on her first qualifying solo, check out the going allowance!
Rab said: “I think it was all of that to be honest.”
The race winning times on the same day were: D5-17.54, D4-17.58, 17.13, D3-17.43 & 17.25, D2-16.95 and D1-17.04. All on going assessed as -60.
Rab said: “Those times don’t really begin to tell the story. Every one of those pups left heaps of time on the track.
“Some were left four or five lengths in the boxes. Then they were all over the place, which is what you would expect from pups having their first trials.”
Queen Leona is from the Droopys Sydney/Queen Jessiej litter whelped on 16 December 2021. Her littermates are King Ray, Queen Georgia and Queen Sande. The other four: Queen Dusty and Kings Crosby, Styles and Stevie are from the Jan ’22 litter by King Turbo out of Queen Charlotte.
Kings Memphis, Capaldi and Sydney and sister Queen Shakira had their first handslip at Towcester last Saturday and are due to have their first qualifying trials for Heather Dimmock this weekend. They are by Droopys Sydney out of Queen Beyonce and were whelped four days before the Jessiej’s.
** Derby semi finalist Beyonce has just whelped a new litter – three and three – by Magical Bale. British Breeders Stakes winner Queen Dolly has three dogs and four recently born bitch pups by King Elvis.
Pat Cooney from bet365 is pictured with Rab following Havana Lover’s win. All pix – Fortitude Communications
