Daily schoolboy chores for his five brothers meant George Borg grew up "detesting'' greyhounds but for the past 40 years the Glenmore Park trainer has devoted most of his life to the sport.
Borg, whose greyhound Pedagogy took his Wentworth Park tally to three wins and eight placings from 14 starts last Saturday night, began his career as a trainer as a 15-year-old.
"That was when my mum Mary bought me a puppy from a litter which my uncle had bred,'' Borg, now 55, recalled.
"Until then I detested greyhounds because my five brothers, who were working, all owned a greyhound or two and my duties before and after school included looking after them.
"That all changed when mum gave me that puppy which raced as Goxa Lane, named after the street in Malta where my mother and my father, Gejtu, had lived before coming to Australia.
"Goxa Lane won a maiden qualifying trial at PENRITH and gave me my first win as a trainer in a maiden race up the straight at WYONG.
"When I left school I secured an apprenticeship as a sheet metal worker but hated it and after becoming indentured I quit and went to work full-time at Paul Cauchi's Kellyville Trial Track.
"I was with Paul for five years and by then was besotted by greyhounds, so would attend race meetings six nights a week with Paul's brother Sam, a keen punter who I first met at church."
Borg scored his first city on January 1, 1980 with Pippa Neri - but it was not exactly a popular winner.
"He defeated Paul's greyhound, Main Thrust, who had been backed for a fortune," Borg said.
"Pippa Neri was a $51 chance but I had placed $50 on her so went out and bought myself a nice car to replace the heap of junk I was driving at the time.''
Borg secured his best greyhound a few years later after paying $1000 for Secret Kate, a brood bitch he bought from his pal John Vallone.
"John owned the 1984 National Derby winner Inch Time but he was forever 'getting out of dogs' and sold Secret Kate, who had been originally owned by the famous breeder Bob Doak,'' Borg said.
"Secret Kate won only three races and after a race fall would not chase properly but she was a magnificent looking greyhound. I was desperate to breed from her.
"Her first litter to Eaglehawk Star included a handy greyhound named Fluffy Steel but her second litter, sired by Brother Fox, produced BJORN, easily the best greyhound I have trained.
"Brother Fox had set the world record for 457m at Harold Park before CARNIVAL BOY bettered his time over 457m at the Gold Coast in 1989.
"A week later my dog BJORN went even faster, winning in 25.50 on the old Gold Coast track.
"BJORN finished fourth to Worth Doing in the 1989 National Derby final which attracted a simply sensational field.
"I had another National Derby finalist in Happy Prince, who was trained for me by Harry Sarkis and who finished an unlucky third to Comrade In Arms in the 1997 final, which was among the weakest on record.
"I worked for Harry Sarkis for a year and handled some of his great dogs, including Black Aztec who won the 1980 Melbourne Cup and 1981 Hobart Thousand.
"I learned much from people like Harry, Paul Cauchi and the great trainer Stan Cleverley, who often stayed at my place when he visited Sydney.
"Best advice I got from Stan and Paul was to use your eyes. In other words to closely observe how your greyhounds were eating, how they were breathing, even the way they were standing.
"And when it came to rearing puppies there was no better mentor than Billy Fletcher, who had won the 1967 National Derby with Mister Moss.''
George Borg has led a varied life within greyhound racing.
Apart from working from famous names like Paul Cauchi and Harry Sarkis, he was NSW's chief grader from 2000 to 2008.
These days George is an aged care nurse but trains six greyhounds as a hobby, the best being Pedagogy and his brother Mystagogy, who has won four of his past seven provincial starts.
George's all-time favourite greyhounds are Brother Fox and Black Aztec while his pet courses are "any metropolitan area tracks.''
