Racing Fulfillment
It is the ultimate in DIY greyhound racing when you own the sire and dam, then breed and train the litter yourself.
Retford based Phil Milner and partner Keeley Cunningham go double handed into Friday’s BGBF British Bred Puppy Cup Final with the youngest two runners, the July pups, Keefill Goose and Keefill Maverick.
The pair are by Gemma Evans’ Trafalgar Cup winner Droopys Addition out of Tarsna Atlanta.
Phil said: “I really wanted Droopys Addition to put across another bitch. I spoke to Gemma about taking Addition and there was a discussion with the owners about the issues to trying to stand a stud dog. I was really only interested in taking him if he was to be ours, which they agreed.
“So far, he’s had six bitches including a very exciting litter by him out of Nah Then Bella. One of the pups is only just through schooling and has already done 16.18 for the Sheffield sprint.”
As the prefix suggests, the dam is from Geoff Parnaby’s ‘Tarsna’ dam line. For those who know their breeding, Geoff was the man responsible for sourcing so many of Michael Dunne’s great Australian imports, most notably Top Honcho and Frightful Flash.
As a breeder, Geoff produced Irish St.Leger winner Skywalker Rory, Tarsna Havana (sire of Skywalker Logan) and their sister Tarsna Bo from whom Phil bred a couple of British bred stakes finalists Keefill Arthur and Keefill Finn.
Tarsna Atlanta was A2 at Sheffield and threw an exciting young dog called Tarsna Danny in her first litter. (And yes, you did read that right, Danny’s paternal grandsire Tarsna Havana and maternal grand dam Tarsna Sal were littermates).
Danny was only 20 months old when clocking 27.41 (480m) at Sheffield but his career was over after five races.
“Danny was Derby class, but we lost him in an accident” says Phil.
Maverick and Goose are from the second litter and there should be more to come.
Phil says: (Keefill) Halo will probably make open class if she ever learns how to go around a bend and Dares (beaten a short head in the heats) should also win opens with a bit more experience.
“But Maverick has always been a couple of lengths quicker than Goose and also the most forward. By comparison, Goose is the goofy brother who hasn’t really grown up yet.
“We also have a 12 week old litter out of Atlanta by Ballymac Cashout.”
Despite their lack of experience with just nine races between them, Maverick is disputing favouritism with Romeo Cypher who has a significant advantage in both age and experience.
But Maverick is a quick learner as he showed when landing the semi final from brother Goose. His winning time of 26.60 (+10) was a five length improvement on his first round run where he was just beaten by fastest heat winner Coppice Ella.
He has 10 spots in hand over Romeo Cypher following his win in the other semi.
“I was disappointed with that first round run to be honest” said Phil “in fact more baffled really that he hadn’t won after he took the lead.
“The thing about them is though that they are very lightly schooled. The litter had three or four runs over the sprint at Jeff Sealey’s schooling track and a total of probably seven runs over four bends, that is racing and schooling combined.”
So how does he assess the chances of both Maverick and Goose in the final?
Phils says: “I would be lying if I said I was happy with being drawn on the outside of Romeo Cypher with Maverick. As it is, I would like to see him on Romeo Cypher’s heels early on and we could have a race of it. But you can’t rule Goose out either, especially if he pings it.”
The Henlow Send Off
Trainers are reminded that open race entries for the track’s final meeting on Sunday, close on Thursday.
Track spokesman James Chalkley said: “I believe that a number of trainers are planning to enter. Seamus Gaughan told me that he had his first runner there and is determined to have some at the last meeting. Others may be thinking the same.
“There are a wide variety in the calendar though unfortunately we cannot stage any 550s, which is always a popular distance. Unfortunately the traps broke last week and it was decided that it was uneconomic to repair them for just this last meeting.
“If we get a full card, the first race will be around 6.20 and we will put on additional races if we have the entries.”
With promoter Kevin Boothby offering to lay on some food, it seems quite likely that a post meeting wake is on the cards.
