Advise needed for new trainer
 

Hello all.
This is my first post, so I hope I do it right.

In July of this year 2008 I purchased a greyhound from a fellow in the Leeton (NSW) area. The dog has had 12 starts for 1 win and 4 placings when I got him. He was broken down in 7 places with his hip being the worsed affected. After 6 weeks on the leed I slipped him up the straight at Appin 274mtrs. He pulled up ok. 5 days later I trialed him at the same place and distance and he ran 16.5. Again he pulled up ok.
10 days later I trialed him at Glengarry over the 400 and he ran 24.35.
9 days later I raced him at Richmond over the 400 and he finished 5th in 23.30 beaten 6lths. Another 9 days later he raced at Bulli over 515 and he finished 4th in 29.35 beaten 2 lths.
Now here is my questions.
1. Am I running him too much? ( He has been off the lead 9 times since I've had him.)
2. Are those times at those tracks any good?

He is nearly 3 years old.
He weighs 32.5 klg.
I exersise him 20 minutes walking twice a day.

I would appreciate some advise.

Thankyou

coops

Coops couple of things,
we have a bitch taht has won in town and she runs 24.2 at Glengarrie. One thing looking at his overall record you might be better placed heading into the country circuit with him. His times at Richmond and Bulli are ok however might be better to give him some confidence in easier grade at this stage.
Regards
Rod

Many thanks Rod.
I gave him a trial at Richmond on Sunday morning over the 535 mtrs in a field of 4.
He finished second by 2 lths in 31.01. Which was the fastest time for the morning.
That would probably be good enough time to race him in one of the country tracks.

Rod, am I running him too much?

coops

2 times a week should be plenty and leave you a race start as well.

Sounds like he might be suited to Gosford or even try Potts Park if he handles the grass.
You could pick your self up a good win there:cool:

Thankyou guys.
I have taken your advice and nominated him for Goulburn on the 4th October. He got a draw over the 457mtrs. I hope he does well.

coops

Good luck coops keep us posted on how he goes!

He probably only needs the one runa week once he is fit which he should be now. Not a bad trial at Richmond at all you should get away with a race there on that sort of trial. Have on thought you have trialled him around the circle and now are putting him on the U turn at Goulburn you may have been better sticking to a 2 turn track like even the Dapto Twilights or Lithgow etc. Still hope you get a winner coops!
Best of luck with him Saturday and like Morgan said let us know how you go.
Rod

go get em coopsssssssss

Rod, the reason I chose Goulburn is that he does not jump very well, and I thought that Goulburn would suit him because of the straight from the boxes is quite long before the first turn and hopefully he will sort himself out before he gets there. The only thing that worries me is not getting hammered when he gets there, and from box 3 there is a good chance that he will. But if he gets through he has a strong finish and thats what I'm counting on.
I'm still trying to work the dog out on his characturistics. The way he jumps, his early pace, (which he has none) his manner racing with other dogs, his finishing times. Struth, I'm going to know him better than myself. Ha ha. Then when I think I've got it down pat I'll chose the tracks most suited for him.

Sounds good hey.

coops

^^when you think you will have it down pat,the dog will make a fool of you....thats what they do best

nickg, mate you seem to know the dog better than me.
Took him to Goulburn as planned. 5 minutes to kenneling and he goes and injures his foot. had to be scratched. Very dissappointing.

coops

Sorry to hear that how serious is the injury?

Morgan,
Examined the foot thoroughly when I got home and found that he suffered a stone bruise on the back of his foot. I put his foot in cold icey water for 5 minutes saturday afternoon and again this morning. He seems to be recovering really well and I'm sure he'll be ok in a couple of days. I will swim him for a few days rather than walk him just to make sure his foot heals up well. A little kiss on it helps too.

coops

Good to hear its nothing serious, keep us updated on his progress.

Coops...

For whats its worth... he was SCR on the 4th which means he should be legible for the Richmond Qualies over 400m on the 14th. Nom him then for them and see how he goes. If he makes it to next rounds, he will then gain fitness and experience out of it plus give you the idea of where he is at.... step him up in distance OR go non tab.

If you step him up - After the Qualies however far he goes through it - i would just chuck him in the 535 as he is already running over it so he should be fit enough. If not a handslip in between wont hurt him.

If he doesnt like the TAB if its not too far for ya, head to Nowra NON TAB (last tab meeting is 1 week tomorrow).Choices of 520 or 365 which can depend on his racing style and speed out of the box or even Dapto NON TAB.

If the dog goes well at either of those and competes high enough he may go well at tab... and then it gives you more options.

These are just a few thoughts chucked together to help out.


Regarding over running him. If you think he can run 500m (which trials say YES) then dont step back in distance. Keep him there and dont stop -i know this contradicts the above of going to Richmond Qualies but thats just an option i expressed.
The more he gains over the distance, the fitter he will get as from the sounds of it he would not be completely fit for 500m yet, but from the trial time, not too far from it either. id say 2 hanslips up a slipping track and a race/trial would be plenty, but get to the know the dog as he may like being fresh too.

Maybe take the hit and try Richmond tab and if he gets knoced around a bit, go elsewhere. The options are there, just at his age, its hard when so many good young pups are coming through

Thanks for the advice Chook.
Mate, I was thinking of swimming him a couple of times this week and then taking him down to Bulli on friday morning and give him a run over the 400. Then if he pulls up ok I will nominate him for the 472 the following week. He has run twice at Bulli and he seems to like track. He has had 3 runs at Richmond. 1 over the 535 (Trial 31.30) 1 race over 400 23.35 got beaten by 6 lths in that race after getting hammered from start to finish. ( First time on the track) Took him back one week later to see what he could do by himself. 23.07. (Solo). He is not a real good box dog and has no early pace. He has had 3 race starts with me and he has jumped last in every one and has been last to the first corner everytime. He does however finish on very strong and just misses out on a place.

Chook, I've given you some Idea what the dog is like. It's ok me saying that, but he still has to prove it by producing in a race.

coops

Well I took him for his first swim ever.
Crickey what a handfull. The pool had about 80,000 litres before he got in, now it's got about 3 litres. Everyone man and his dog who was in there scattered.
He did about 3 laps before he emptied it. He's mad.

coops

Yeah that is a fair comment how did he go?

Hi Rod,
He thrashed around a fair bit but in the end he was swimming ok. I'm taking him back to the pool Tomorrow for another swim. I think I'll get in with him this time to calm him down. Hopefully he'll be better.
His foot is coming along nicely and he has no soreness in it anymore. I'll take him to the vet on thursday to give it a good checking over before I run him on friday.

coops

I would like to take this oppertunity to thank all you people who have helped me with your advise on my dog.
He won at Goulburn on Sunday and it was my very first win with a greyhound ever.
He gave the leader 10 lenths start coming around the last corner and he got up by 3/4 lth.
Again, thankyou for your help.

coops

Congratulations Coops on your win yesterday. It's a great feeling when own and train your dog. I hope over the next few months i might train my first winner being owner, breeder and trainer my dog. cheers Dougie :)

I hope you do too Dougie. It truley is a great feeling.

coops

Hey guys, me dog won again last Saturday at Goulburn. That makes two in a row. He ran 26.20 over the 457 mtrs.

Question: Does that make me a quallified greyhound trainer now?

Me very happy

Well Done Coops on your win last saturday. I did see the results at Goulburn and knew you got the cash again. Just wondering if you could tell me what happen to Race For Grace in a earlier race. Noticed she got beat about 28 Lengths meaning she either broke down or fell???? Congrats again Coops. cheers Dougie :)

Congats Coops but before I go any further, refer back to Dougie's congrats and question on previous post (re Race for Grace), I don't want it to be missed due to my subsequent posting. Anyway Coops it is great news. Re calling yourself a "greyhound trainer", why not? I am not aware of an official definition beyond holding the relevant licence and you have already achieved more than many? Either way, enjoy every minute of it including these memories which will last for ever.

Thanks fella's.

In regards to "RACE FOR GRACE" The dog was going to win by 10 lenths half way along the straight when it suffered an injury to it's back leg. It looked serious as the dog just stood there in the middle of the track trying to stand on it. I'm not sure to the state of injury it sustained, but it didn't look good. I hate seeing a dog break down like that and I hope it will be ok soon.

Thanks Coops for that information on Race for Grace. I hope she is alright. regards Dougie

Sensational effort coops. Congratulations on the wins.

Thanks mate.

You know fella's, when I told a few people about his wins, they say. " It's nothing to win at country tracks. You've got to win at metro tracks to have regonition."


I tell them, winning a race anywhere is hard enough wether it be at the country tracks or the metro tracks. There are alot of trainers out there trying to win races just like me and love what they are doing. Not everyone has a city dog they are hard to come by.If it wasn't for the country tracks, where would the sport be today.

I know a few trainers that have reasonable dogs and are trying to win maiden races. (Which I reckon is the hardest races to win these days) at metro tracks. There are heaps of them that are good enough to win their maiden at country tracks but but they say there's no money at those tracks. But they are not getting any money now racing at metro tracks. I reckon, get rid of your maiden race first anywhere you can. Forget about the dollars untill then. I may be wrong in saying this but it's only my opinion.

really don't care what they say. To me, who has only one dog and enjoy training my dog and racing it,gives me more fun than anything else at my age.
They have never had greyhounds, so what would they know hey.

Merry Christmas to you all and keep safe over the festive season.

"Really don't care what they say", that is the philosophy to pursue Coops. Greyhound racing is all about enjoying what you do and do it within your financial limit, that is, for 95% of people. With regard to financial limits, my conservative approach was always, "when you spend a dollar on a dog, never expect to see that dollar again". I am very often impressed by the leading dog trainers interviewed on the radio, people like but not only, Reg Kay and Robert Britton. They always seem so humble, modest. I can only trust that this is how they really are. This really pleases me in that over decades of involvement and/or interest, I was always bemused by the dog people who always knew better than the other person including defaming them behind their backs and it was often a load of #@&t. The rubbish I have heard over those years is remarkable. This is part of the reason I take such a self-effacing attitude towards myself (not that I prescribe this for other people) and in particular, my ability to train dogs. I want to be as different as possible compared to those people. A friend said to me in 1969, "I can only do what I think it is right and accept whatever happens, maybe learn from my mistakes". Pretty simple but that's about it. Nevertheless, you can listen to people who you think are worth listening to and weigh up whether there is anything you can "take on board". With regard to "metro" winners, let me assure you that they are hard to find and yes, winning a race anywhere is fantastic. In fact, do you know what, I have always wanted to win a race at Broken Hill. Unfortunately, I can't see it happening before I die and of course there is then no hope. You are going great Coops, two in a row and yes, I hope it will soon be three but whatever happens, the most important thing is that the dog gets around safely and that you keep on enjoying what you are doing.

Hey Coops, Just saw you scratched today at Goulburn. I hope everything is alright. cheers Dougie :)