With restrictions still in place around handlers on track, I would suggest anyone looking for someone to box a dog at any upcoming Dubbo meetings, might ask Kylie McDonald.
Kylie took four dogs from her Springside home near ORANGE to the Dubbo meeting on Thursday night. The first Fusion Whisper had no luck, neither did the second Fernando Fusion for her husband Wes, but the other two both saluted - Fusion Fugitive impressively in race eight, and Fusion Crumble winning in race 11.
Kylie’s mother Pam Braddon (pictured) had two runners engaged in race nine and another in race 10, along with one for Pam’s husband Paul.
“Paul and mum had two dogs in each of those races, so I helped Paul with the boxing,” Kylie explained. “And … I boxed both winners for them on the night.
“It was certainly a very busy last night, but a very successful one all round.”
Pam’s Meeka’s Joy won race nine, while her bitch Blazing Lisa upset Paul’s odds-on favourite Flaming Fury in the 10th.
Four successive races boxing dogs, four successive winners for Kylie, all on a brisk night at Dubbo where the mercury hovered around two degrees, with locals on standby for rain and snow.
“It was nice to get a double last night, it made the trip up to Dubbo worthwhile,” Kylie said. “I think it was colder at Dubbo than it was at ORANGE when I left, but I spoke to Wes earlier in the afternoon and he said it was snowing in ORANGE and they really didn’t want to come up and trial the dogs they were going to bring.
“I think we were lucky we didn’t get any snow or rain at Dubbo.”
With a family in greyhound racing, Kylie said it was just something she was always going to get involved in.
“Probably since I was five or six I remember going away racing with my mum and I have been doing it ever since,” she said. “It’s just what I know now.
“We have our own kids now and they also enjoy coming along with us when we race, and my second child, Riley, he is very eager to get his licence already. He’s only 11, but he’s very keen as well.
“I was like that too, As soon as I could get my trainer’s licence I did and thankfully I had a lot of help along the way.
“I started with a couple of giveaways and had a lot of fun with those, and I have been hooked ever since.”
