Jodie Lord is recognised as being among Australia's leading trainers but it was her husband Andy who showed remarkable foresight two decades ago when he presented a young trainer named Craig Sheridan with a handy race bitch.
Sheridan had told Lord he was keen to establish his own breeding line and Lord's gift was a female called Book Of Days, who won four of 15 races.
"Andy told me that if I looked after her and mated her with My Bro Fabio, there was a good chance I would get my hands on a good brood bitch,'' Sheridan said.
My Bro Fabio's union with Book Of Days produced Book Of Luck, who became Sheridan's first top notcher and whose 10 wins and 11 placings from 35 starts included wins over both 520m and 720m at Wentworth Park.
When retired Book Of Luck was mated with Fernando Bale and her litter whelped in December, 2019, produced Saturday night's sensational Wentworth Park winner Tiger Jack.
Trained by Jodie Lord but raced by Craig Sheridan's son Ayden, Tiger Jack scored a runaway win over 520m in 29.62, far and away the best time of the night.
That was astonishing considering Tiger Jack was having only his sixth start, but the dog's run home time was even more remarkable, an almost unheard of 11.55.
Tiger Jack's finishing figures did not surprise trainer Jodie Lord, who said: "Tiger Jack won't be sprinting much longer, he is not far away from tackling middle distances.
"And I'll be amazed if he does not become an absolutely top notch stayer.
"Book Of Luck has since produced a litter by Good Odds Harada, and these pups, now 15 months, are an exciting lot with a bright future.''
Tarawi Peppa gave Wayne Sugars his first city winner since Fever Frenzy in May, 2019, when she scored a surprise all-the-way win at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.
Trained at Bargo by Sugars, a retired plumber, for renowned central coast breeder Lorraine Atchison, Tarawi Peppa began brilliantly and wasn't headed in 30.30.
"Tarawi Peppa has been good to me because when she won at Dapto early in November she gave me my first winner since I relocated from suburban Sydney to become a fulll-time hobby trainer at Bargo,'' Sugars said after Saturday's race.
"And tonight's win was especially timely because while I don't normally bet, I thought she had a good outside chance so had $50 each way on her at $51.
"I had booked concreting to be done on Sunday so Tarawi Peppa has paid for that.
"She has now had three wins and four thirds from a dozen starts and while she has always been a reliable beginner, she really nailed the start tonight.
"Tarawi Peppa is the first greyhound I have been fortunate enough to train for Lorraine, and she is out of her record breaking bitch Miss Foxy Lee so is a litter sister to Tarawi Ted, who won four races at Wentworth Park for David Smith.''
