If the shoe fits.

Anyway, the last couple of month's performances are on my side - mostly declining. With my punting hat on I would not have touched her in the Sale Cup at any price. Certainly she put in a good effort - but she lost, didn't she? As she did to an inferior dog in when fading in the final at Wenty!

I might also have made roughly similar comments about Bogie Bekim.

Anyway, my role is not to train but to observe and assess.

Bruce Teague wrote:

I think - with caution - you can compare the eras. In fact, it is compulsory to do that if you are going to assess how the industry is going. Without question, the current batch of (alleged) stayers are the worst for a long time. Consequently, when a high quality race dog like Fanta Bale comes along she looks terrific and wins terrific money. She gets out well, positions herself well, keeps on keeping on and is worth whatever she wins. But she is no champion. She is following on from an era starring Chinatown Lad, Sweet It Is, Miata, and so on, which would knock her off nearly every time. Fanta Bale races neatly but rarely does she run time. The entire staying group - as a group - has fallen away significantly in the last several years, which must be a function of breeding trends. Few can run out the trip and often times are terrible. It's often embarrassing to see them going up and down in the one spot on the home turn. No-one wants to use staying sires. Wheeler does not aim to produce stayers yet several of his line have featured in staying wins - presumably by accident, as was the case with Miata. The best of rest, Xylia Allen, could run brilliantly one week but could never back up a week later. Others won by spearing out of the boxes and just flopping over the line. They were really 650m dogs. Indeed, in the Bold Trease final all but one runner, including Fanta Bale, ran an average of 7 lengths slower than their heat times. That's not exceptional, it happens in every heat/final series I hark back to a quote from the late Bill Pearson of Gold Guide fame; "They are not as robust as they used to be". The industry needs to carefully study those weakening trends and come up with policies that reverse the decline. That will not only benefit the breed, it will make customers happier. They love long races. (NB: the thoroughbreds have the same problem).

If you look carefully into its history you will see that the dog never had a break except when injured - and not for very long then. Not only was it racing weekly but it was covering more miles than a Qantas jet. In that late period it was even trialling over 700m but by that time it had lost its punch anyway. The sister's performances were similar in some ways (although not up to the same standard).

If I recall correctly, the trainer was young and not too experienced. I suspect he thought the gold mine would never stop producing but that may be unkind.

One of the issues with these stayers is that they are virtually forced into weekly racing by the calendar - the alternative being to miss a heat/final altogether - so I have some sympathy with their trainers. Perhaps the real culprits are the authorities and clubs which put the program together.

Nevertheless, the hard facts are that the modern greyhound cannot sustain repeated demands on its system beyond a certain point. It may well try but it will suffer. Performances in distance races prove that time after time.

It's even true of some sprinters although they are hard to differentiate. But if you conduct a detailed check on racing frequencies in a given kennel you will always find that the lesser lights race more often than the top notchers. I am not sure why because they don't win more - but perhaps they return petrol money.

It's not for me to criticise their overall training skills. All I am doing is pointing out what happens on the racetrack, whether RB or, for example, the former Hall of Famer, who was a shocker at over-racing. But what I will never subscribe to is "the trainer knows best" syndrome. No way, it's the formguide which knows best. That's where the trainer displays his skills.

Incidentally, none of the above happens with thoroughbreds. If they go off form they are off to the paddock in a flash. Certainly, their careers are much longer but the principle remains. Ignore it at your peril.

I thought her race was over when she was caught in the middle of the pack and shuffled back to near last place with the leader Hecton Bale upfront going well and carving out 34.20

The amount of guts & drive that bitch showed to weave through a field and find the strength to pass class dogs like Chasin'Crackers etc and only just get beaten for the win was remarkable

Box 6

EXTERNAL LINK

Sandro Bechini wrote:

She may have been touched off by Hecton Bale last night and no one will remember it years from now, but really in getting beaten, it was one of the best runs of her career IMHO I thought her race was over when she was caught in the middle of the pack and shuffled back to near last place with the leader Hecton Bale upfront going well and carving out 34.20 The amount of guts & drive that bitch showed to weave through a field and find the strength to pass class dogs like Chasin'Crackers etc and only just get beaten for the win was remarkable Box 6 EXTERNAL LINK

C'mon Tab get with the program l'm cashed up after the Australian Open and want to give you a chance to get some of it back.

What a bloody gutsy, tuffed out win proving she is worthy of being called a CHAMPION.

Well done to all involved.

In years to come if she can produce some nice SIRES like one of PAW great dams has (GOLD RUSH BALE), Fanta Bale will create some nice RAZZA'S opportunities.