Ay Goodes is continuing to prove the doubters wrong – and trainer Beverley Sweeney is hoping he can provide her with some more post-retirement cheer at The Gardens today.
The in-form greyhound goes in the greyhoundproductsdirect.com.au Stakes (400m) aiming to maintain his solid record of seven placings in his last eight outings.
Sweeney only took charge of Ay Goodes in May but his run of good form, which includes consecutive wins in his last two outings, shows it’s a good partnership.
The Lake Macquarie trainer said she was loving seeing her charge go so well.
“I am a bit surprised by how well he is going,” she said.
“We were told when we got him that if we could get him to jump out of the box, he could do anything.
“It’s full steam ahead now.”
Ay Goodes was among four greyhounds given to Sweeney by owner Bradley Canty.
He chalked up a 400m personal best time of 22.75 winning at The Gardens earlier this month and now has a solid five wins and two placings from 11 starts.
Sweeney’s other greyhound in this race, Magic Chicken, has gone 22.68 for the 400m and is another steadily improving performer.
“Bradley said to us, what are you doing to get them going so well’,” Sweeney said.
“I think some greyhounds take longer to mature before you get the best out of them.
“We’ll keep (Ay Goodes) at 400m and see how he goes.”
Sweeney decided to start training greyhound alongside husband Pete shortly after retiring about 12 years ago.
“It felt like the moss was growing on us,” the 67-year-old said. “It’s given us something to get up for.
“I’ve never been a person to sit around. I love the outdoors.
“They are beautiful dogs, we’ve met an unbelievable amount of people and it’s a lot of fun.
“When they give you a lick to say, ‘thank you’, you know they love you. It’s beautiful.”
Ten races are on the card and action starts at 3.02pm.
For fields, form and expert tips from The Gardens, click here.
