Glen McKinley, formerly a successful NEW ZEALAND thoroughbred trainer, believes he could be on the crest of a winning wave with his greyhounds following new acquisition Canya Ayden's brilliant win at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.
The former Victorian scored his second win in five starts for McKinley, easily taking out a 520m fifth grade in the outstanding time of 29.98.
While Canya Ayden's success in such quick figures shocked most punters, McKinley insists he had been confident the dog would win.
"While I realise his win at his previous start, over 520m at Bathurst, was only against country dogs, he did it impressively,'' McKinley said.
"He had not raced at Bathurst but ran home in a smart 10.61.
"I paid $3500 for Canya Ayden after his Victorian owner decided to move him on when the greyhound was beaten a couple of times.
"He had won four of 12 starts in Victoria and at only 27 months of age, and being a son of the great Fernando Bale, I thought he had a future.
"My partner Caroline Hughes and I now have 16 greyhounds in our kennels and we expect to win plenty of races in the coming months.
"Another recent arrival to our property is the former South Australian, Luca Bazooka, and I expect him to more than pay his way.
"He has not started for us yet but is showing plenty of promise and has had seven wins, three seconds and four thirds from 18 SA outings.
"Luca Bazooka is a sub-30 greyhound at Adelaide's Angle Park so he has proven he can run.''
McKinley and Hughes, whose brother John trained the flying Genesis, winner of the 1992 Tweed Heads Galaxy, also have a finalist in Friday night's Globe Memorial Maiden Classic at Richmond.
"Abundant Assets, who won her heat and semi-final of the Globe Memorial, is a litter sister to the classy stayer Sherbini,'' McKinley said.
"She has drawn box six in the final so faces a tough task from out there but we think she is going to develop into a good stayer.''
McKinley has long shown a keen eye for procuring well priced performer greyhounds, as one of his first purchases, Accomplished, won the 2015 Dapto Derby as a $53 outsider after being bought from a Victorian owner.
