The RSN927 Sandown Cup will forever be associated with four time winner – yes, four time winner! – Bold Trease. To discover the phenomenal impact Bold Trease had on the sport of greyhound racing, enjoy Neil Brown’s tribute the ‘Warrnambool Warrior,” and make sure you watch his amazing Sandown Cup wins at the bottom of the page.
Few greyhounds in the history of the sport have captured not only the imagination of the people within the game, but also the recognition of the general public at large. Such was the case with one of the sport’s great champions, the Warrnambool “Warrior”, Bold Trease. He was loved Australian wide for his ability to drop out in his races, tail the field, then with less than a lap to go, pick off all his opponents one by one, storming home at a great rate of knots.
The champion stayer in a long five-year career won amazingly on fifty-one occasions. Among his many career highlights stands a record that most people doubt will ever be broken, a feat he will always be remembered for, his four Sandown Cups, it was the group one race he made his own. Here is the story behind a super star greyhound, Bold Trease.
The champ’s litter by Roy Trease from Irish Temptress was whelped March 1984. It was Irish Temptress’ fourth successful litter. An enigmatic chaser with loads of ability, she was trained throughout her career by legendary mentor, Ned Bryant, the ultimate breeder of Bold Trease. Irish Temptress had produced some excellent greyhounds from her previous three litters. Her first to Temlee contained Bridarlin, World Vision, Tashina Lad, Fairway Miss and Golden Tracey. Then to Tempix, she produced Jewelled Star and John Michael and to Shamrock Point, Handsome George and Sun City . Irish Temptress whelped six dogs, (all fawn), and three bitches, (all fawn), but only six were to race. Bold Trease’s brothers, were named Mr. Pawnbroker, Black Dollar and Blazing Dollar, while his sisters raced as Jenna Wade and Lavish Lace, some were handy, but none anywhere near the class of Bold Trease. I asked Bold Trease’s trainer, Norm McCullagh, how he picked out the champ as a pup, “I was up at Ned Bryant’s getting my dogs checked when Bryant suggested I have a look at a couple of litters he had on the ground. One by Roy Trease, the other by Ballarat Prince, they were both ten weeks old. I liked Roy Trease as a sire, so I naturally went for them. I had first pick and for no apparent reason I picked Bold Trease. Lucky, I guess, but they all looked the same fawn dogs and bitches, it was no more than just pure luck.”
Bold Trease was raced in partnership by Jim Rule, Ron Hay and Alan McCullagh. I asked Norm McCullagh as he had purchased the pup from Ned, how that came about.
“The boys had raced four pups together, but unfortunately none turned out any good so to keep them interested I suggested they race the Roy Trease pup, who at that stage I thought would be OK. It certainly worked out pretty well, I reckon.”
Bold Trease was reared at the Warrnambool property of Norm McCullagh in that wonderful Warrnambool area where so many of our champion greyhounds have been bred and reared. I asked McCullagh about his rearing set up.
“Nothing special, we rear about six pups at a time in two, one hundred metre runs. With only having a few pups they get plenty of attention and heaps of good tucker. We also let them out twice a day into a five-acre galloping paddock. You’ve never seen a dog work harder than Bold Trease. He would just run all day, never blow a candle out. I knew very early on he would make a stayer. He would just run and run and run.”
Norm McCullagh also breaks in his own pups. He explains how easy the champ took to racing. “He broke in a treat, an absolute natural. Only had a couple of hand slips. Two attempts in the boxes and it took only about two-weeks before he was trailing like a veteran. He only had a handful of runs before he raced at seventeen months. He trailed 26 dead over 450 at Warrnambool, so we put him straight in and he won his maiden in 26.10. People probably didn’t realise he could always sprint. He would break 26 easy at Warrnambool anytime. I would trial him there in lead up runs after a spell. One morning he ran 25.40. My mate that worked the clock that morning couldn’t believe it. He had outstanding speed!”
I asked McCullagh, if there was anything special about the name Bold Trease?
“No, nothing special, it was just on our list of names sent to the board. We liked it as much as some of the others we sent in. His kennel name was a very simple, Roy ”.
McCullagh told me there were quite a number of offers for Bold Trease.
“After his first five starts we had a genuine offer of $80,000 from a prominent Victorian owner/trainer of that time. He had brought a number of dogs successfully prior to offering to buy Bold Trease. We also had several offers from Sydney in the early part of his career. I don’t think we ever considered the offers, I don’t think we would have sold him at any price.”
The champ made some amazing comebacks from serious injuries. Not one but two broken hocks, which on both occasions kept him out for four to five months. He also suffered a broken stopper bone and he tore off a toe, but like the warhorse that he portrayed, he came back to race successfully each time. McCullagh told me apart from his physical injuries, Bold Trease never got ill or sick and he would always race through adversity.
Norm told me his biggest thrills were also Bold Trease’s best performances.
“His second Sandown Cup was a thrill. He was just so far back, I didn’t think he could win, and to run down a dog as good as High Intensity in 43.59 was a great performance. Also to win The West End All Stars Classic at Angle Park was a top performance. But probably, the biggest thrill was that fourth Sandown Cup. I will never forget the crowd that night, it was fantastic. To think he could win it a fourth time was something else. It was a thrill to race a dog like Bold Trease. The public loved him; I remember I was at Sandown after one of his wins. I met a couple that had only come to see him race. They would come out only when he was in and leave straight after he raced. In Sydney , they had him playing with kids, he used to love the kids. They’d walk him and pat him, you could take him anywhere and he’d be at home, a very relaxed dog.”
As is the normal case with breeders, a champion stayer has little or no chance at stud. They are given few opportunities and Bold Trease was no exception. He sired fourteen litters, producing a few handy gallopers, Extra Bold, Bold Keno, Pretty Bold and Truly Bold.
Bold Trease raced 104 times for 51 wins, 22 seconds, 12 thirds and prize money totalling $127,600. He was judged the 1987 Victorian Greyhound of the Year, and was a finalist in 1986 and 1988. Won the Sandown Cup four times, 1986 (43.84), 1987 (43.59), 1988 (44.05), and 1989 (43.85). The champ held track records at Sandown (43.32) and Launceston 722 (43.67). It was the biggest crowd ever to attend a greyhound meeting, the night he broke the Launceston record. He also held the Ballarat 735 record twice (43.82 and 42.90). His other feature wins included the Association Cup 87, Navy Day Trophy and the Coca-Cola Distance Final. He won the Victorian National Distance Championship and representing his state at the Gabba in 1986 and in a special honour the champ was judged Greyhound of the Decade 1980-1990.
The Sandown Club also nominated him for American Greyhound Hall of Fame at the concussion of his career. During his race career, the Warrnambool City Council also honoured Bold Trease for his services in that he had the City of Warrnambool come under public recognition.
The ‘Warrnambool Warrior’ lost his fight with bone cancer when on Tuesday the 23rd of July 1991 he was humanely put down. The champ earlier in the year had his right hind leg and hip amputated but the disease tragically spread to his liver and kidneys. After recovering well from the major operation, it was thought the cancer had been beaten. That was not the case and the pain and suffering became too great. McCullagh had no alternative, but to end his champion’s life. Bold Trease was buried on McCullagh’s property with an appropriate headstone erected in a tribute to the great champion he was.
The fond memories Bold Trease provided greyhound racing fans, will remain in their hearts forever, as there are few greyhounds that reach a standard that have people flock to race tracks just to see them race.
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Neil Brown is the Publicity Officer of the Australian Greyhound Racing Association, a renowned greyhound historian, and a long serving director at the Sandown Greyhound Racing Club. You can follow Neil on Twitter @chasingextra, and Discover more about the AGRA Hall of Fame here.
VIDEO
Bold Trease wins the 1986 Sandown Cup
Bold Trease wins the 1987 Sandown Cup
Bold Trease wins the 1988 Sandown Cup
Bold Trease wins the 1989 Sandown Cup
BONUS – Bold Trease narrowly defeated in his heat of the 1990 Sandown Cup!
DOCUMENTARY – Bold Trease, the Warrnambool Warrior (run time approx 24 minutes)
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