Pierro Kade scored his 11th win for owner-trainer Peter Spiteri at Maitland last Thursday - defying some pre-race drama into the bargain.
Spiteri explained that a change of meat in Pierro Kade's diet while he was being trained recently in Melbourne had seen the dog's weight soar on the eve of the Maitland event.
"He usually races at around 32.9 or 33 kilograms but when I got him back from Melbourne he was down to 32.5kg,'' Spiteri said.
"That wasn't a problem until the day before the Maitland race when I noticed his weight at his previous race in Melbourne had been 33.8kg.
"Under the rules he would have been scratched if he weighed in at between 32.5 and 32.7 at Maitland so I fed him two dinners on Wednesday, in the afternoon and again at night.
"Then I gave him a big breakfast on Thursday morning, the day of the race, and he tipped the scales at 33kg so he was able to start and as I expected, Pierro Kade won in smart time.''
Pierro Kade and his litter brothers Jack Kade and Let It Develop have been remarkable performers for Spiteri, having now amassed more than $118,000 prizemoney.
That comes from 44 race wins, astonishing considering early in their careers they were rated as merely "short course'' greyhounds.
Jack Kade and Let It Develop have been under the care of Sydney trainer Anthony Azzopardi during his current Victorian campaign which comes to an end this week.
Jack Kade won at Ballarat and Warragul for Azzopardi while Let It Develop produced an exasperating four second placings at those tracks.
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Dave Irwin's move from Queensland to Warragai Creek, 14km north of Grafton, is now complete so the crack trainer can be expected to be a more frequent visitor to Wentworth Park and near Sydney TAB tracks.
He brought Black Audit to Maitland for a 565m race last Thursday and the greyhound, owned by Brisbane Sunday Mail editor and greyhound racing enthusiast Peter Gleeson, won comfortably in a sizzling 31.75.
It was Black Audit's sixth win from nine starts but Irwin explained that he has not always trained the greyhound.
"She has been trained intermittently by George Ward, the partner of owner Peter Gleeson's mother Maxine,'' Irwin said.
"George has cancer so training a greyhound gave him a diversion from the issues associated with such a serious illness.
"He did a great job with Black Audit but when he had to undergo more chemotherapy he was not able to continue training her and handed her over to me.
"Hopefully Black Audit will run 720 metres but until we try her over that trip we can't be sure of her stamina.
"At Maitland it was encouraging to see her put a length on Zipping Spike, who was running second and is a strong dog, in the run to the winning post.''
Black Audit races next at Lismore tomorrow night over 635m.
Check out the fields, form and expert picks here.
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KENNELMATES Bank Street and Cy Tolliver staged a thrilling head-and-head duel over 600m Dapto last Thursday with the former prevailing in a photo-finish.
Trainer Ruth King has plans to step the duo up to 720m racing shortly.
"After a couple more middle distance races at Dapto and possibly Richmond, I'll try them at 720 metres,'' King said.
"Although he is a terribly wide runner I am probably more confident about Cy Tolliver being a stayer than Bank Street, but we'll have to wait and see.
"Cy Tolliver needs box eight badly but it is frustrating to see him being beaten at the provincials when he has so much natural ability.
"In a post-to-post hand-slip at Wentworth Park he once posted 24.16, and that is the kind of time the top Golden Easter Egg sprinters are able to record.''
