Tony Rasmussen, whose kennels are at Murray Bridge, in South Australia, was rewarded for making the 26 hours round trip when each of his greyhounds, Striker Klinsman and Hukanui, qualified for Sunday's Canberra Cup final.
Striker Klinsman (pictured) was a brilliant heat winner last Sunday while Hukanui made the final by virtue of being one of the two fastest runners-up.
"I did the 13 hour drive on Tuesday, September 5, and trialled them at Canberra the following day,'' Rasmussen said.
"Hukanui actually went quicker than Striker Klinsman when they trialled but Striker Klinsman is a terrific race dog, among the best I have trained over the past 21 years.
"It has been a marvellous effort by Hukanui to get into the final because of his history of problems, including a fractured hock and a dropped hind leg muscle.''
Rasmussen and wife Lisa, who has trained for Australia's most successful breeder-owner Paul Wheeler for the past 17 years, have 48 race dogs in their kennels.
While Striker Klinsman is named after the legendary soccer player, who was a champion "striker'' in Germany's 1990 World Cup winning team, Tony Rasmussen says neither he nor the dog's owner Jim Aloisi are football fans.
"Our greyhound was already named when Jim bought him from his Victorian owner early this year,'' Rasmussen pointed out.
Photo: Courtesy Kurt Donsberg
