They say patience is a virtue and that proverb couldn’t be more pertinent when referring to the chasing career of Lightning Sharp.
The first pup ever bought and trained by former Parramatta Eels premiership star, Stephen Sharp, had what many would call an inauspicious start to life on the racetrack.
He pulled up halfway down the home straight on debut at Bulli, then barely left the boxes in start number two.
And they say lightning rarely strikes the same place twice.
“He went about two metres and turned back looking for kisses and cuddles,” Sharp laughed as he cast his mind back to that day at Bulli in 2021.
Lightning Sharp doing a U-turn soon after leaving the boxes in his second start at Bulli
“There were a few people who maybe thought racing wasn’t for him and although it wasn’t too funny at the time, we can look back and have a laugh about it now. We were never going to move him on, he’s a special dog, so beautiful, very affectionate and part of the family for life.”
Sharp and wife Narelle investing plenty of time, money and energy in order to iron out a few kinks in Lightning Sharp’s race day arsenal.
“We tried a lot of good credentialled and quality people but it was Roz and Barry Evans got him going,” Sharp added.
“Roz got him starting and finishing his races and we worked with him from there. We just kept giving him a chance and kept showing up and then he won that race up the straight at Richmond…the TAB paid $318.60 which was record apparently.”
It would be over a year until the son of Ando’s Mac x Lightning Nikki would win again, but in his last eight starts he’s had four victories and just as many placings, including a 17.88 victory on Thursday.
The Richmond Straight proving to be a happy hunting ground for a dog many believed might never greet the judge first in race conditions.
“It was a great feeling winning that first race. It was funny though, a lot of people were joking that he wasn’t even watching the lure, he was just running fast and looking straight ahead,” Sharp said.
“But we’re happy we persevered with him up because now he’s finally showing us how fast he can run. His times at Richmond have dropped from the maiden win in 18.21 to his best of 17.81 and he just loves going to the races.”
“The only thing he likes more is the drive home because he knows the spot we empty him isn’t far from the McDonalds at Sutton Forest and he’s about to get those chicken nuggets.”
“I think he’ll go through some withdrawal symptoms because after Thursday’s meeting, they aren’t racing up the straight at Richmond again until October.”
The three-time premiership winner recently relocating to Goulburn to continue his love affair with the sport he was introduced to at 17-years of age.
“We bought a nice little 20 acre property down here and as the crow flies, it’s about 400m from the Goulburn track,” Sharp added.
“And ‘DeeDee’ just loves it down here. They’ve got a 310m straight slipping track down here and you can run your car alongside the track. By the time I put him in the gate and get back in the car, he’s already down the other end waiting for me.”
The kennel also striking recent success with Zipping Neymar who has been nominated for the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase heats this Friday at Goulburn.
