Cassar determined to succeed

Caco Potion continued a string of consistent form with an impressive win last night for up-and-coming trainer Stefan Cassar.

Caco Potion began fairly to settle behind the speedy She’s Got Grace. He grinded away at the deficit and finished far superior to win by ¾ of a length.

“I made the decision to drop him back in distance and he obviously appreciated it. I knew he couldn’t begin as well as some of the others in the race but I was confident he would run home strong,” said Cassar.

Caco Potion, or Timmy as he’s known at his Creswick home, is one of two racing greyhounds at the property. In Cassar’s home country of Malta, a large fan base of family cheer on Timmy whenever he graces the track.

“He has a huge following in Malta. My family over there watch all of his races and are huge fans.”

Cassar says Timmy is very special to him, his wife and six month old son Nico.

“We treat him more like a pet but he’s more than a that, he’s part of the family.”

Cassar and his wife moved to Australia from Malta just four years ago. On arrival they had no family or friends locally to support them, which led them down the path of finding a new interest to meet new people.

“When we moved to Australia it was a bit of a shock. We had no family or friends that we could see, we didn’t know anyone. We wanted to do something to meet new people. My first thought was to get involved in horses, but at the time it was going to be hard and expensive. I then started to research what greyhounds were all about and sent an email to Ken Bennett (former manager at Ballarat GRC). Not long after we visited the track and decided I wanted to get involved in greyhound racing.”

Timmy was the first greyhound he bought. Cassar toured him around provincial circuits early in his racing career before heading to the bright lights of Sandown Park late last year. Timmy won a heat of the group 1 Bold Trease at a price of $32 before finishing 5th in the $145,000 final.

Although still a relatively new trainer, Cassar has fallen in love with the sport and has an ultimate goal of one day training greyhounds full time.

“Now that we have new rules in terms of permits, I can apply to have 20 dogs on our property. I wouldn’t want any more than that, it’s enough to give the dogs all the attention they require. The plan is to apply for a permit then start building infrastructure.

“Hopefully I can build a team that will allow me to quit work and train greyhounds full time.”

Working as mechanical engineer by profession, he often finds himself away from home at awkward hours. His commitment to his greyhounds wouldn’t be possible without great help from his wife, Pasqalia.

“My wife is always helping, she takes Timmy to the track whenever I’m working night shift. She supports me a lot and we do everything together. We work hard but we enjoy the good times.”

Caco Potion’s next major assignment will be next month’s group 1 Bold Trease, which is run in conjunction with the TAB Melbourne Cup – the world’s richest greyhound race. Head to superdogs.com.au for more information

: Stefan Cassar with Caco Potion following last year’s Bold Trease heat win

Pasqalia Cassar with son Nico and handler Charlie Pirotta following last night’s win