Cameron Williams looked at his phone as a message popped up. The text, from leading NSW trainer Jason Mackay was short, simple and succinct. It simply said: “Leading Owner”.
The win of the Mackay-trained Canya Dig It in the Ladbrokes Back Yourself Maiden on Monday night may have on the surface just seemed like just another dog breaking its maiden for the powerful Hunter Valley kennel, but for the Channel Nine Sports Presenter, and his group of fellow owners, it meant so much more.
“Leading owner … that’s what Jason sent me. I did laugh. It’s funny how winning a maiden at Maitland can mean so much,” Williams said, agreeing that it wouldn’t matter if it was a maiden at Maitland or a feature race in the city, any win is special, especially when it’s your first.
“Last night was very funny because at 6.48pm which is when the race was due to run, that’s borderline with when I finish the sport on Nine News every night.
“So I had to quickly say goodbye on air, and dash outside the studio and thankfully they were running about 30 seconds late at Maitland, so I just saw the bunny roll, and I was standing there by myself - which was a bit miserable - but I was cheering at the phone.
“We didn’t dare to believe he might win, but it was so good in the end.”
Williams has been the on air host of the past two telecasts of the TAB Million Dollar Chase on the Nine Network, first in 2019 when it was shown on Nine Go, and then last year when it was seen by over 1 million people when shown on the main Nine channel after the NRL preliminary final.
He explained how ownership came about from that night back in October 2019 when Good Odds Harada won the MDC Grand Final.
“Yes, this is the first dog I have owned,” Williams explained.
“My cousins - Jeff Horn the boxer’s family - well his father is about the same age as me, and I used to always go to their place on holidays. They would always have a greyhound in training in their back yard and they had some luck at the Gabba during that time with the odd, good dog, and they did it on a shoestring budget and it seemed to be a lot of great fun. I’ve always liked the greyhounds as a breed, they are so friendly and inquisitive, and I used to love playing with their racing greyhounds when I was a kid.
“So I have always had a mild interest in the dogs, and always thought that it might be a fun thing to get into, then back on that 2019 Million Dollar Chase night, it was such a big crowd and I saw it was a young crowd, and a good mix of men and women, a mixture of well-dressed and those with Ugg boots, and to me it was like a bush racing crowd and it made me feel a bit at home.
“I thought this is fun and more exciting than I thought it would be, I should get involved with some mates.
“Not long after that, I was at the races at Randwick and said to the group of blokes I was with I’d like to race a greyhound and everyone just said yeah I’ve always wanted to do that or I’ve been thinking about that, so right then and there we put the cash together and then sourced a dog, and we have been very fortunate to get the dog through breeder Toby Weekes and now be with a leading trainer like Jason Mackay.”
Those mates Williams threw in with have some serious credentials.
“It’s a good bunch of people. We have what we call the Four Pillars, that’s myself, Tony Shepherd who is the Chairman of the Greater Western Sydney Giants and has an amazing background in business, the Star Casino’s Nick Santucci, and Natalia Cooper - our weather girl at Nine - her husband Carl Fox.
“Then some have also sub-let their share and I’ve got Karl Stefanovic in with me in my share.
“It’s a good group of people and we have always hoped the dog might one day be good enough to race at Wentworth Park, and we could all go down and have a beer together and watch Canya Dig It, and that’s what it’s all about for us.”
Importantly the group thought beyond racing when investing in their greyhound, and Williams said they are all very conscious of the welfare aspect of the sport.
“When we were putting the money in we set aside a portion that will go into looking after this dog forever. He’ll always be well looked after.
“We’re not going to tell him about it just yet as we hope he can continue to win some races now that he’s got his maiden win out of the way, but Canya Dig It has got a life of luxury awaiting him when he’s finished racing.”
