Warren Nicholls has been training for just two years but tomorrow night at Lismore gets his chance at a $20,000 first prize when he leads his greyhound Blake's Turn out for the Ladbrokes Up For The Challenge Maiden Classic final.
Blake's Turn won her heat in a slick 24.01 before posting 23.78, the third fastest qualifying time, in last Tuesday's 420m semi-finals.
"She has drawn box six in the final and I'm happy with that,'' Nicholls said.
"I bred Blake's Turn from a bitch called Stylin' Up and she is not the only one in the litter which can run.
"In fact her brother Forest Dweller, who has not yet had a performance trial, is two lengths quicker. Unfortunately he was injured and because of that setback he wasn't ready for the Lismore race.
"Forest Dweller is on the way back though and I am setting him for the heats of the Group 3 Vince Curry Memorial at Ipswich on February 11.''
Nicholls now trains out of Churchable, in Brisbane, but became involved with greyhounds as a 14-year-old, helping out the late Carol Rhodes at her V.I.P. Kennels in Sydney.
Rhodes' son Simon, is now a successful Sydney trainer, and landed a winner with Dyna Nerf at Dapto on Thursday night.
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Zeke Mundine may have won only a modest maiden race in slow time at Dapto on Thursday night but nobody was more proud than Appin breeder Ken Wright, whose wife Mary trains the greyhound.
The Wrights bred Zeke Mundine and named the greyhound after legendary Vietnam War hero ROY "Zeke'' Mundine, the brother of Aboriginal leader and former national president of the Australian Labor Party, Warren Mundine.
In April 2015, Zeke Mundine was named as the Australian Army's inaugural indigenous leader.
"I served alongside Zeke, also known as Uncle ROY, in Vietnam, and was there when he had a leg blown off by a landmine,'' Ken Wright said.
"When that happened Zeke refused for a long while to allow anyone come out to help him, as he realised there would be other mines scattered around.
"I had been waiting to get a decent young greyhound to name after Zeke and his two-year-old namesake Dapto winner can go a lot quicker than the 30.73 he clocked on Thursday.
"The dog is capable of breaking 30-second at Dapto and Mary and I are confident he will pick up a low grade 520m race at Wentworth Park.''
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Zipper Daisy, who took his record to two starts for two wins at The Gardens on Friday, was a gift to owner Clint Duncan from breeder Robert Howard.
Duncan had bought another dog produced by Howard's brood bitch Cumani but when the owner was unable to race that greyhound due to an accident, the breeder generously replaced it free of charge.
The replacement, Zipper Daisy, won first up for veteran trainer Ron Asquith, taking out a heat of The Gardens Maiden Stakes before scoring again in last Friday's final.
