George Sannette, greyhound racing’s hottest unraced property, is not for sale at this stage despite owner-trainer Kevin Johnson being bombarded with massive five-figure offers.
The son of Cosmic Rumble and Johnson’s Taree 537m record holder Bloss Sannette had would be buyers lined up after posting 24.88 in a 450m performance trial at Maitland on September 25.
Those figures were a mere .01 outside group one champion Paw Licking’s course record, a remarkable achievement given that George Sannette is just 17 months old.
While Johnson, who runs 50 cows along with calves on his property at Wherrols Flat, a tiny farming community near Wingham, won’t detail the offers, they are reported to have been as high as $70,000.
“At this stage I’m planning to have a bit of fun with George Sannette myself and am looking for a suitable race for him,’’ 74-year-old Johnson, who has been training for 40 years, said.
“I have to start him before the performance trial credit expires so I’m looking to give the dog a post-to-post slip at Richmond so he could start his career there.
“Maitland is a roomy track but George Sannette can also handle tight courses because he has gone fast in a post-to-post slip at The Gardens.’’
“George Sannette is from the second litter whelped by Bloss Sannette and I have another seven pups from this litter in work.
“A litter brother to George Sannette is just as fast but he always seems to have something wrong with him while George Sannette is totally sound and has a great temperament so is the complete package.
“Apart from them I only have one other greyhound in training because my wife Yvonne and I also have brood bitches on the property along with eight greyhounds which have retired from racing and are kept as pets.
“For example George Sannette’s great-grandmother Barbie Sannette is still pottering around at home and she is 15 years old!’’
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Who said bookmakers were an endangered species?
Six bookies at the October weekend carnival at Coonamble held $731,000 on 71 races over the six meeting racefest.
Leading the charge, as usual, was shearing contractor Brian Cleaver, who, with his bookmaking partner John Summers, turned over $220,000.
Cleaver, 74, has been fielding at Coonamble for 40 years and said this year’s was one of the most successful, while he and Summers showed a $33,000 profit.
“I too several $4000 and $5000 bets and took $7000 on a dog in one race,’’ Cleaver said.
“I bet a fellow an even $3000 and after I turned the price in to $1.80 I was asked for $4000 on the dog at that price.
“When I told the punter that $2000 would be enough for me he had a dig at me about not being able to get set, so I agreed to bet him the full $4000 at $1.80.
“The dog got beaten!’’
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Charlie Northfield, the Northern Rivers breeder who gave away Paw Licking in a goodwill gesture, has that Group 1 hero’s litter sister Kingsbrae Molly in pup to Bekim Bale.
In mid-2011 Northfield sold an Elite State-Kingsbrae Di puppy to retired bricklayer Allan Lang but when the pup became seriously ill he gave another from the litter as a free replacement.
The replacement pup was Paw Licking, who went on to win 32 of 54 races and over $430,000 prizemoney.
“Kingsbrae Molly actually defeated Paw Licking in the Pop Northfield Memorial Maiden Final at Casino but after that win and another six seconds, she broke a leg,’’ Northfield said.
“During the 11 months Kingsbrae Molly was sidelined she had six puppies to El Grand Senor but when she started tearing around the paddocks at home I put her back into work.
“She began racing with a big bend in her leg but that didn’t worry her although I restricted her to Casino where she couldn’t pick up too much speed because of the shape of the track.
“I was fearful that if I started her Grafton or Tweed Heads she might go too quick and break the leg again.
“But she managed to win another 10 races from 14 starts at Casino before she came in season recently and was mated to Bekim Bale.’’
