Paul Bartolo is widely regarded as one of the state’s most astute owners, trainers and breeders, so it should have come as no surprise that the affable trainer from Little River would win two heats of the GRV Vic Bred Maiden heats at Sandown Park this afternoon.
It did, however, come as a surprise to the man himself.
“I didn’t back either of them – I heard there were some faster greyhounds than them in their races!” said Bartolo after litter mates Bucky Barnes (pictured above) and Leprechaun Storm won on their respective debuts.
“To be honest they’ve probably shown more at the Meadows than here, but then they were pretty much broken in at the Meadows.”
In fact, the Sandown Vic Breeders series was a fall back for the pair after a run of poor luck derailed Bartolo’s original plans.
“I was going to put them in the Meadows Vic Breeders but I put Leprechaun Storm in a field trial and she broke a toe. A week and a half ago I took her back to the Meadows and she got run down in 30.40 which was out of character so I had some blood work done and found that she had a virus.
“Leprechaun Storm trialled 30.05 on a slow track here on a Wednesday which was the best of the day, the week after Bucky Barnes went 29.85. He’s a big dog and not as mature as she is so this series might be a little better for him anyway. They’re both fit and healthy now so they should just keep improving.”
Paul, alongside wife Diane, has won several editions of the Vic Breeders Maidens around the state. The three week series carries almost $18,000 in prize money should a greyhound win all three weeks. But despite the potentially lucrative start to greyhound’s career, Bartolo – one of the state’s most respected breeders – believes the prestige of the series is a greater reward than the prize money.
“I don’t even look at the prize money to be honest. As soon as I know they have ability, I try to work out which Vic Breeders we’ll aim for. The way I look at it, If they’re going well at a young age, why not have a go at them. I think Betty’s Angel was 18 months when she raced in hers.”
Betty’s Angel was undefeated in her Vic Bred maiden at the Meadows in 2006 and went on to win three group 1 finals – including the 2006 Melbourne Cup – along the way to winning more than $440,000 in prize money. While Bartolo isn’t making any comparisons to his former Australian Greyhound of the Year, he has already flagged a tilt at the group 2 Laurels at Sandown Park in December.
“I missed out on the Laurels with Betty’s Angel because she was still a maiden at the time. But hopefully Leprechaun Storm can shape up for it. It’s a race we’d really love to win.”
While Bucky Barnes (29.82) and Leprechaun Storm (29.91) were impressive in their wins, it was Shantui that claimed time honours running 29.61 in the final heat when winning by more than 17 lengths. It was the second biggest winning margin by a maiden greyhound after Burn One Down demolished his rivals by 18.5 lengths last April.
Other winners include John John Lava (30.00), Lil’ Miss Banjo (29.82), Diamond Rocks (29.76) and Dr. Flannigan (30.05).
The semi-finals for the series will be run on Sunday 23 October, with the final to be run on Thursday 27 October.
Click here for the semi-final box draw.
Click here for full results and replays from today’s meeting.
