After a horror period when his marriage broke up and he suffered a serious back injury at work, Andrew Bayliss is back training greyhounds and with the smartest line-up of dogs he has prepared.
Andrew is currently a clear leader in the Dapto trainers’ premiership Despite having his first starter since his “comeback’’ as recently as December.
When Fancy Chance, latest addition to his kennels, won in a slick 30.17 for owner Mark Haines at Nowra last Monday, it was Andrew’s 37th winner in the past seven months.
His team of 14 racers, along with three unnamed youngsters, include Wentworth Park winners Velvet Flame, Jorelle, Glama Pak, Stiff Arm and the improving Spanky’s Legacy, who has been placed in five of nine Wentworth Park starts.
Andrew trains on five acres at Bargo, in the NSW Southern Highlands, and his property includes a 150 metre run for the race dogs and a 70 metre galloping yard for the juveniles.
Unlike many of his colleagues, Andrew had no family background in the sport.
“I caught the bug After my father Victor took me to Richmond dogs when I was 15 years old,’’ Andrew, now 42, says.
“We then went to a couple of Penrith meetings and it wasn’t long before I was begging dad to buy me a greyhound.
“When I was 16 he bought me a dog and we trained it ourselves but while it was not much good, in hindsight we didn’t know what we were doing either.
“The best performance that first dog came up with was a third placing at Lithgow!
“On leaving school I worked 14 years for Westpac Bank so left the training to others but had my first winner as an owner with a dog called Bank The Cash.
“I started training them myself when I was in my early 20s and landed my first city winner with a bitch called Kedo’s Mary in a 720 metre Wentworth Park race in August, 2002.
“After seeing her win a race at Moss Vale I had bought her from her owner, bookmaker Jeff Holland, for only $1500, and she was a $13 chance when she won for me at Wenty.
“I was living at Wollongong at the time and Ken Howe of Dapto used to check out my dogs for injuries and give me advice on how to train greyhounds.
“But for me it was mainly a matter of using common sense, asking questions, listening to knowledgeable people and watching what the top trainers did at the trial tracks and the races.
“Undoubtedly the fastest greyhound I’ve trained was Classy Love, who was owned by Harry Markou.
“She gave me my biggest thrill in the sport when she won the Nowra Puppy Classic, worth $25,000 to the winner, early in 2012.
“Classy Love broke 30 seconds in her first trial at Wentworth Park but badly injured a stopper bone and was retired After winning eight of her 19 starts.
“Another big buzz I got was winning at Dapto last December with El Alamein, because he was my first starter After my lay-off from the sport.
“It was a special night because some mates of mine, who had stood by me during my bad times, bought El Alamain for $1500 just to give me something to train.
“Biggest disappointment I’ve endured was with Cawbourne Chelsea, which I bought for just $3000 from breeder Stuart Dickinson.
“She became one of the favourites for the Dapto Puppy Auction Classic final but was run off the track when about to go to the lead at the first turn.
“I’m happy with the way things are going now because I’ve always mainly only had cast-offs, I haven’t had big money owners spending huge sums on dogs for me to train.
“Mark Haines spent a bit of money getting Fancy Chance from Dennis Barnes though and I have a high opinion of that greyhound.
“I had Glama Pak and Stiff Arm, who are owned by former Bulldogs league star Barry Ward, going pretty well. Unfortunately Glama Pak busted her toe at Nowra and last week Stiff Arm tore a pin muscle in a trial at Appin.
“Despite that I like trialling at Appin because once they are fit I don’t over work my dogs, I prefer just giving them the occasional hit-out up the straight.’’
Dapto is Andrew’s favourite track while when it comes to the best greyhounds he has seen, he can’t go past 1989 NSW Greyhound of the Year Worth Doing and 2001 Golden Easter Egg winner Brett Lee.
