Many trainers dream of finding that life changing greyhound. A greyhound that not only provides financial security, but changes their life in a way that money alone cannot.
For Correy Grenfell, that dream was realised when Dyna Chancer arrived in his kennel.
Grenfell, 25, had just started out his training career when he struck up a relationship with renowned breeder Paul Wheeler. Famous for his line of greyhounds carrying the ‘Bale’, ‘Dyna’ and ‘Allen’ monikers, some of the sport’s greatest champions have emerged from Wheeler’s New South Wales property. His team of trainers across the country include some of the biggest names in the sport, so for a trainer starting out in the sport he had to prove his credentials.
Click here for Dyna Chancer’s career record
“We got offered some of the older dogs that other trainers had,” said Grenfell.
“The deal was that if we proved ourselves with them and good some good results that we’d eventually get some younger ones.”
Over the next two years Grenfell prepared numerous winners, and Wheeler honoured his word by sending pups Grenfell’s way. Among one of the first wave of pups was a striking red fawn son of TAB Melbourne Cup winner Dyna Double One who immediately caught Grenfell’s eye.
“We knew he was something else from the start. He told us he was a standout – he didn’t really run much time, but we knew how big his stride was and that there was something special there.
“He’s just a lovely dog, he’s been one of my favourites since the day he arrived. There’s something about him that not a lot of other dogs have. He’s a little bit dopey in a way but he’s nice. He greets you when you walk in the shed and the kids just love him. I think ‘Chancer’ was one of (Grenfell’s son) Ollie’s first words. The whole family just loves the dog.
Chancer’s debut wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Drawn as a reserve, Chancer gained a start and looked set for an impressive maiden victory before a lure malfunction saw the event declared a ‘no race’.
A week later, there were no such technical issues as Dyna Chancer broke his maiden status at The Meadows. His 29.87 victory was the first of four consecutive victories at the track, breaking 30 seconds in each and winning by a combined 25 lengths, marking him as a greyhound to follow.
And those who followed him had a ride to remember. He’d finish his career with 31 wins and 29 minor placings from his 82 career starts and over $295,000 in prize money, qualifying for 15 group finals including seven at group 1 level over all three metropolitan distances. It was this versatility – and ability to run times over all distances – that Grenfell believes was the dog’s greatest strength.
“He was a very easy dog to train, a good worker who really loved racing. I would have loved to sprint him longer, but he’d find trouble early over the sprint so I had no choice but to step him up in distance. He made all of those group finals, but he ran time over all distances too. He won a Speed Star over 715m in 41.57, and he broke 34 twice in Speed Stars over 595m. Sandown was his best track, but he broke 30 seconds at the Meadows seven times over the 525m too. He was just a very fast animal over whatever distance we raced him. ”
Dyna Chancer’s racing career came to an end just weeks after his other kennel star, Orson Allen, also retired. The two dogs had a life changing impact on Grenfell and his family, their share of the two dogs combined $910,000 in prize money not only helped establish his new training property at Mount Wallace, but also gave Grenfell a better perspective and appreciation of their feats.
“The ride Chancer and Orson took us on was a ride we could only dream of. When they were going well, competing in and winning group races, you can get caught up in the moment. But looking at them now that they’ve both finished, reality kicks in and you appreciate them a lot more.
“A lot of people followed the two dogs and were as disappointed as we were when they retired. I had a lot of phone calls and messages wishing us and the dogs well, and even had a number of people we didn’t know stop us and congratulate us on their careers. It’s good for the sport to have dogs like them, and an honour for us to be able to train them.”
Correy Grenfell is standing Dyna Chancer at stud for $1100. Contact him on 0423 043 235.
Dyna Chancer wins the Lizrene Speed Star in a slick 41.574
