A switch from cow’s milk to soya bean milk has transformed Walshaw, who broke through for his first win in 10 starts at Gosford last Tuesday night.
Walshaw and his litter sister Zin Four Us landed a winning double for their trainer, Croydon Park carpenter/builder Tim Anagnostopoulos, who races greyhounds as a hobby.
Anagnostopoulos, who won 19 races, including 10 at Wentworth Park with Zin Zin Zanziba, the dam of Walshaw and Zin Four Us, says he discovered Walshaw was lactose intolerant.
“He was originally trained by his part-owner Gerry Lee, who named the dog after his great pal, former bookmaker Graham Walshaw,’’ Anagnostopoulos said.
“Graham had to give bookmaking away after suffering a stroke and after being beaten in several races, Gerry asked me if I would like to give his greyhound namesake a go.
“This greyhound has had his share of problems because when he was at Gerry’s, which is in a rural area, he suffered grass allergies.
“He would get rashes all over his body and his legs would blow up so Gerry thought a switch to my place, at suburban Croydon Park, might help.
“But whenever I gave Walshaw a drink of milk he would throw up so I took him to a veterinary surgeon and he diagnosed the dog as being lactose intolerant.
“Since I moved Walshaw onto soya bean milk he has been fine and his form has improved dramatically.
“He also relishes swimming in the salt water at Cabarita, near my home, and he seems to enjoy the traditional, old-fashioned walking on the roads.’’
Walshaw followed a second placing in a 400m Gosford maiden with a nippy 23.14 win there last Tuesday.
His sister, Zin Four Us, who won her maiden over 280m at Wentworth Park in a fast 16.15, scored over the same course at Gosford last week in 23.26.
Zin Zin Zanziba has had 10 litters but has now been retired to a life of leisure as the house pet at Anagnostopoulos’s home.
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Dennis Carl celebrated his election as a director of the NSW Greyhound Breeders, Owners and Trainers Association by winning last Tuesday’s Gosford Maiden final with the promising Wuxi.
Pronounced “whooshy’’ and named after a town in China, Wuxi led throughout over 515m and posted a smart 29.83 despite covering extra ground through racing wide.
She is trained by Luke Azzopardi who regards her as highly promising.
“Wuxi is a litter sister to Kiddie Cutts, also owned by Dennis Carl, which I performance trialled at Wentworth Park last Monday,’’ Azzopardi said.
“Kiddie Cutts clocked 30.24 so is pretty smart too and Dennis owns another bitch from the same litter which is equally good but which has come in season.’’
Dennis’s son Chris Carl bred the litter from Florinda Belle, who was lightly raced due to a bad injury sustained as a puppy.
“Florinda Belle was a litter sister to Complicit, Snoopy Collins and Satin Surf who won good races for me," Chris Carl said.
"I didn’t hesitate in breeding from her because she is from Geoff Cook’s line which is extremely prolific.
“I am training another from this same litter, Opus Forte, which performance trialled at The Gardens in 29.90 and which I am setting for the Sportingbet Maiden heats at Wentworth Park on June 23."
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Narellan trainer Phil Bailey was left wondering what might have been after consistent Hooker’s Miss finally broke through for a win in a 520m maiden at Wentworth Park last Monday night.
Hooker’s Miss, by Magic Sprite from La Lola, had rung up 11 placings from 26 starts before leading throughout in a handy 30.30 for the 520m on Monday.
After the race Phil said: “I have persevered with Hooker’s Miss and it finally paid off," Bailey said after the race."But her litter brother was six lengths faster.
“His name was Tony’s Magic and when I first started trialling him I truly believed he was a future Wentworth Park top grader.
“But by the time he was ready to race, Tony’s Magic just wouldn’t chase properly and all my hopes were dashed.’’
Hooker’s Miss gave Phil his first Wentworth Park winner since he scored with Real Jester seven years earlier.
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There was understandably plenty of emotion associated with the wins by Castanea at Wentworth Park on June 2 and again last Monday.
Castanea is trained by Craig Moffitt for the Chestnut Group, a syndicate headed by Clinton Payne, editorial manager of the Racenet site.
One of the syndicate members is well known Sydney sports media identity Glenn Robbins, whose wife Narelle perished in a house fire in August 2012.
After Castanea overcame a slow start to win by over seven lengths in a slick 30.18 last Monday, Robbins revealed that the syndicate had been formed during the wake following Narelle’s funeral.
“Ten of us decided to chip in $1000 each and buy three bitch puppies and Castanea was one of them,’’ Robbins said.
“Narelle was a redhead and her nickname was Chestnut, hence the title of the syndicate.’’
