Last night Princess Pout delivered her trainers Gavin Clifton and cousin David McKenzie their first metropolitan win.
Princess Pout sprung out of box 1 and led comfortably setting up a winning break in the early stages. She went on to win impressively by 1¾ lengths in 29.63.
Clifton and McKenzie were ecstatic and couldn’t wipe the smile off their face following the win.
“This is absolutely gold, it’s a huge thrill for us we’re really rapt. A reward for all the hard work,” said McKenzie.
“We’ve had a few winners on Sundays at Sandown but this is our first on a Thursday night.”
Clifton and McKenzie have owned greyhounds since their late teens but it was only in recent years that they decided to take up training.
“We’ve been training for about 3 or 4 years now – like any greyhound training set up, you need a partner to do it properly. Gav’s a radiologist at Dandenong Hospital, every morning at 6am on his way to work he comes to my place to walk the dogs and give them any treatment they require. I keep an eye on them during the day and give them anything they need,” continued McKenzie.
Their training partnership struck up following persistence with one of their greyhounds after they were told he’d be lucky to win a race.
“A while back a trainer said our dog wasn’t going to win a race. Dave and I had a bit of time on our hands so we decided to take him in and train him ourselves. He ended up winning a race for us at Warragul, then we eventually sold him and with that money we bought two pups,” explained Clifton.
Following their big win the pair were very thankful of those who have helped them along the way.
“There’s a lot of people we have to thank. In particular the owners who have given us the opportunity to train their dogs – they’re beautifully bred and were well reared.”
“Hopefully this is the start of a dynasty.”
Click here for full results
Princess Pout proves too good in 29.63
