We have seen leading jockey Brenton Avdulla delve in and have success with his young dog Fernando Hunter, a winner of five of his six starts, gallops’ trainer Bjorn Baker has a share in last Wednesday’s Magic Maiden winner Bandit Ned, and now more jockeys and trainers are crossing codes for success in greyhound racing.
On Sunday at Richmond in a heat of the GRNSW 5th Grade Series, odds-on favourite Montanna Keeping hugged the rails, got the run on the home turn and clung on for the win, the first for his new owners, who include thoroughbred racing identities, trainer Jason Coyle, jockey Kathy O’Hara, and CHRIS Waller’s stable foreman Charlie Duckworth.
Also on hand to help cheer home the winner was leading jockey James McDonald fresh from a winning double at Rosehill the day before, and his partner, Channel 7 presenter and former jockey Katelyn Mallyon.
“I didn’t realise who the owners were when I was asked to find a racing dog,” trainer Luke Brown explained. “One of the owners, Tom Van Wyk, is a horse farrier, and we know each other through show jumping horses.
“Tom just approached me because he knew I had some dogs and we were winning some races at the time, and he said he had some friends who would love to get a dog and have a bit of fun.
“So I went about getting them a dog and it went from there. Like I said, I didn’t know at the start who the other owners were, but when it all came together, we all met up and they’re a great bunch.
“They are all good people, and they just want to have a good time, and this is something different for them where they can be themselves and enjoy it and have a good time and they did last night.
“And James McDonald and Katy Mallyon were there and they loved it and they said when we are getting another one to let them know.
“It’s great for our sport to be getting people like this involved too.”
Montanna Keeping was having her seventh start for her connections and had been runner-up three times before breaking through on Sunday night at Richmond.
Brown purchased her through Dubbo trainer and breeder Charmaine Roberts and her partner Shayne Stiff.
“They have been very good to me,” Brown explained. “I bought the dog Hurricane Frank from them at the Richmond (2019 Gold Muzzle) Auction and they really helped me. They took him back and finished rearing him and I have bought a couple of pups from them since. I was a bit of a nobody and they really looked after me and did the right thing by me.
“I know their dogs are reared well and chase hard and I knew if I could get one from them, it would win a race for the owners, and we got Montanna Keeping a couple of months ago.”
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