CASH In Motion might have provided Robert Cooke with his first Group 1 winner in last Saturday night's National Futurity at Wentworth Park but her Casino-based owner-trainer says her litter brother and kennelmate Major Jackpot is "much faster.''
Major Jackpot broke the mighty Paw Licking's 420m Lismore record last week and Cooke has no doubt he will run a strong 520m if he stays sound.
"He has been plagued by injuries throughout his career but if he holds together he can win anything," Cooke said. "He is much quicker than CASH In Motion, yet she has won the Ipswich Cup and now the Futurity,'' Cooke said.
Cooke, a 55-year-old retired welder, grew up in Riverstone, and when he discovered a schoolmate was the son of famous Sydney greyhound trainer, the late Ron Brown, he was soon training a small team himself.
"Then I got out of greyhounds and moved to Casino where my next door neighbour was Charlie Northfield, who bred Paw Licking,'' Cooke recalled.
"I began helping Charlie with his race dogs and next thing I knew I was rearing greyhound puppies, one of whom, Portlem, was my first starter.
"At his first race, on October 8, 1999, Portlem won a heat of the Pop Northfield Maiden Classic at Casino and the following week I had two runners there and they both won.
"The good luck continued because the third week I had runners at Casino I started my entire team of three and they all won.
"Charlie Northfield and his brother Mitch, who had Mitcharlie Mia in Saturday's Futurity final, have been big influences on my career and so has their father Bill, who trained the 1950s Northern Rivers champion PRETTY SHORT.
"Tammy Simpson, my partner for the past 10 years, is my co-trainer and unlike me, she grew up around greyhounds.
"Her brother Peter Simpson has long been among the top trainers in the Northern Rivers area while Tammy's mother Lola Simpson trained top notchers Fast Wendy and Dark And Gloomy along with the great Happy Cappy.
"Happy Cappy was a giveaway who had been dumped on Lola's doorstep, but he went on to win 53 of 105 starts and became the great grandsire of the immortal Zoom Top.
"Until CASH In Motion and Major Jackpot came along, the best greyhound Tammy and I have trained was Hot Syrup, who won 48 of 111 races stretching from 2004 to 2007.
"Hot Syrup was not a true 520m dog, about 460m was really his limit, but I brought him to Sydney for the 2005 National Derby heats and while he was usually a brilliant beginner he managed to bungle the start in that race and was unplaced.
"Hot Syrup is still pottering around at home as a family pet while Teddy's Jackpot, the dam of CASH In Motion and Major Jackpot, only passed away a few months back.
"She was a fast race greyhound who won eight from 20 starts and held the Gold Coast course's first section record but she was retired after breaking down when making the pace in a heat of the 2008 Maitland Gold Cup.
"I also raced Teddy's Jackpot's brother Teddy's Mover who won 19 races, many of them after I sent him to my mate Mark Moroney to train at Doyalson."
Cooke's favourite track also happens to the one closest to his base at Woodview.
"Although Wentworth Park gave Tammy and I our biggest win last Saturday night, my favourite track is Casino," he said. "Since it has been converted from a grass to a sand surface, it is just about perfect.
"Previously it was dead-set leader's track but now, especially over distances ranging from 480m upwards, dogs can come from anywhere and still win."
