The form of Busted Custard – who was the fastest qualifier for Wednesday night's Goulburn To Wenty final at Wentworth Park - is a tribute to the patience and perseverance of his owner-trainer Bill Turnbull.
Busted Custard, who scored his fourth win in 12 starts when he won his 440m Goulburn heat in 25.12, took an exasperating four months to educate.
“Two breaking-in operators gave up on him because Busted Custard just wasn't interested in pursuing the mechanical lure,” Turnbull, a retired wharf labourer from Mount Warrigal, in the Shoalhaven area, said.
“So I brought him home and eventually got him to chase by trialling him alongside another dog I had in my kennel. By trailing along behind my other dog in trials at Nowra, Busted Custard finally got the hang of it and was suddenly raring to go.”
Busted Custard was a gift to Turnbull from the greyhound’s breeder Darren Core, who runs a caravan park at Camden.
“Darren headed the syndicate which owned Buster Custard's sire Forty Twenty, the former champion stayer who won 37 races between 2008 and 2011,” Turnbull said.
“When Forty Twenty retired Darren was in the midst of setting up a greyhound farm near Braidwood and had nowhere to keep his old champ. So I looked after Forty Twenty for him and when Busted Custard was born Darren presented him to me as a thank you.”
Turnbull, who retired from the wharves in 2003, has had one or two racing as well as pet greyhounds for the past 40 years.
“Best I've had were Hot Custard, who was a Wentworth Park winner and won 13 races between 2007 and 2009, his offspring Black Custard, a brilliant short courser who won 15 races, and Smooth Custard, a good money-spinner who won 11 times,” Turnbull said.
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Spanish Sling is among the top fancies for Wednesday night's Canberra To Wenty final at Wentworth Park but her trainer Phil Castles will need a satellite navigation system when he makes the trip to Sydney.
Castles, who celebrated his 59th birthday just 72 hours after Spanish Sling's Canberra heat win, has not had a starter at Wentworth Park before despite having trained greyhounds off and on as a hobby since he was 17
“In fact, I have never been (to Wentworth Park),” Castles revealed.
“I live at Dunlop, a suburb of Canberra, and because I work full-time for a plumbing supply company I don't have time to travel long distances to race my greyhounds.”
“Spanish Sling cost me $3500 as a three months old puppy because she was so well bred and she is the only greyhound I have.
“I won 15 races with the first greyhound I bought but those wins were on small bush tracks and Spanish Sling, who has won seven from 20 starts, is the best I have raced.
“Until now her best efforts have been on big, one turn tracks but while I'm not sure how she will handle Wenty, Canberra form usually works out well there.”
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Wheelchair Norm, who owned by Mark Bell, scored his 17th successive victory and his 67th win at DUNEDIN's Forbury Park on Tuesday.
Wheelchair Norm won at Richmond for Bell before the Austral trainer sent him to NEW ZEALAND's John McInerney where the short course marvel has compiled his astonishing record.
“I sent him to NZ because there are more opportunities for 300 metre dogs there and Wheelchair Norm has since earned $100,000 prizemoney with the 2016-17 greyhound of the year award for sprinters in his keeping,” Bell said.
Wheelchair Norm's feat is unmatched by any Australian-trained greyhound but is well short of the gob-smacking tally compiled by America's Indy Ann, who registered 137 wins and 55 placings from 223 races in the USA between 1954 and 1957.
