Bessy Boo will be aimed for the heats of the next month’s Group 1 Melbourne Cup (515m) as he aims to cap a spectacular year in style.
This year’s Group 1 Peter Mosman Classic winner (pictured with connections and other placegetters) is also likely to have a crack at February’s Group 1 Rookie Rebel (600m) in Victoria and other interstate races.
The sprinter has enjoyed a superb 12 months, winning the $75,000-to-the-winner Peter Mosman and earning a place at the National Sprint Final in Perth.
Alan Proctor, who trains Bessy Boo with his wife Christine, told Dogs TV the couple are looking at Sandown Park’s Melbourne Cup and other races across Australia for their star greyhound.
“There’s a lot of good races around the country (we will look at),” he said.
“He’ll go to preludes of the Melbourne Cup (on November 13) and maybe the 600m race at The Meadows.
“He is competitive. He doesn’t have a lot of early speed but he chases well and rails well.
“He is a thinker.”
The greyhound finished fourth in his most recent outing, last Saturday night's Craig Homer Get Out Stakes (520m) at Wentworth Park.
Alan and wife Christine talk more about Bessy Boo and their training career, which stretches back more than 40 years, in a special interview on Dogs TV.
The Proctors also reveal how they first got into greyhound racing, how redundancy proved a blessing in disguise for Alan and how you cope with the ups and downs as a greyhound racing couple.
They also discuss more about the magical moment when they claimed a first Group win after more than 40 years of training with Bessy Boo in last June’s Peter Mosman Classic.
“I nearly collapsed on the ground,” Christine said. “I was kissing the dog...I couldn’t believe it.
“I have a photo (from the race) above our TV. I look at it all the time.”
Catch the full interview here.
