Hunker Down's flying 29.63 win at Wentworth Park on Thursday night as a $14 outsider surprised everyone except owner-trainer Hagob "Jack" Tatian.
Hunker Down, purchased by Tatian from his breeder Chris Carl, had won one of seven previous Wentworth Park appearances but his best time had been 29.96.
After the dog's win on Thursday Tatian explained: "Hunker Down had problems with his metacarpal bones so after he raced at Wentworth Park in January I gave him a rest and brought him back racing up the straight at Richmond and around the roomy Bulli track.
"Those eight races away from a two turn track like Wenty gave the dog time to overcome those niggling worries and regain his confidence and after he ran third at Wentworth Park on July 11 I felt he was ready to go well there again.
"Early in his career Hunker Down was capable of clocking smart sectional times so I wasn't surprised when he ran 5.45 and 13.82 on Thursday.''
Hunker Down
Tatian's family are Armenians who migrated to Lebanon, with Jack coming to Australia when he was 12 years old.
"We were living at Merrylands and a neighbour, Fred Simmons, was a fireman who trained dogs as a hobby.
"When he passed away my family inherited a couple of pups he owned, and one of them, Classy Irene, won over long distances at PENRITH.
"That was my entry into the sport and Harry Sarkis, who trained champions like Tenthill Doll, Black Aztec, Kirsty's Charity and the Wentworth Park record holders Dalalla and Spoken Joe, became my mentor.
"I've now been involved with greyhounds for nearly 40 years with my best dogs being Maroo's Boy and more recently Showtime Jack, who earned $49,000 through winning 10 races, including a 29.87 effort at Wentworth Park in June, 2020.''
He may have been one of only two Wentworth Park winners on Thursday night failing to break the 30sec barrier but first starter Meniketti, named after the lead guitarist of Y&T, a 1970s American heavy metal band, has a big future.
A litter brother to the recent Group 1 Vic Peters Classic winner Rinsed The Lot, Meniketti was last away but after railing through to be third on the back straight, grabbed the lead approaching the home bend and won by five lengths.
Meniketti's Wagga-based trainer Peter Sims said: "He is still very green but I have a high opinion of this dog.''
Meniketti and his equally promising litter sister Cherry Rose are owned by Sunshine Coast builder Charles Cuscieri, whose brother Michael raced the Sims-trained Rampani, a winner of 15 races.
"I travelled to Wentworth Park several times to watch Rampani race and he won on every occasion I was there, so I'm no mock!' quipped Cuscieri.
"I'm a big heavy metal music fan and enjoy finding interesting and unusual names for my dogs.
"Apart from this dog named after Dave Meniketti, Peter is also preparing three youngsters for me called Iommo, Satriani and Malmsteen, each called after pretty famous guitarists.''
Tony Iommo played lead guitar for famous English rock band Black Sabbath, Joe Satriani has sold 10 million albums and Yngwie Malmsteen is a world-renowned Swedish guitarist.
