Frederick Shoobert has been around the dogs for more than 60-years, and now, at the age of 82, he may well have landed the greyhound prospect of a lifetime.
Hooked On Fame, or Oscar as he’s known around the kennel, has taken all before him at Dapto over the past six weeks, with the youngsters five 297m runs resulting in a perfect 5-0 record.
The times dazzling too, with the picket fence of eye-popping performances enough to indicate to Shoobert he may have “found a good one”.
“He’s going pretty well I guess. The runs have only been only the shorts at Dapto and he’s not a brilliant box dog but when he hits the ground, gee, he’s got a lot of toe,” Shoobert said.
The son of Hooked On Scotch and Shilo has broken the 17 second mark in every one of his five wins, with a personal best of 16.76 one of the quickest times on the South Coast circuit this year (Typhoon Tim holds the track record of 16.66).
The run of spectacular showings forcing the Canberra-based Shoobert to fend off several offers for the rising star.
“People want to buy him off me but he’s not for sale. They could offer me $200,000 but I wouldn’t take it. I’ve been in racing forever and nothing beats the thrill of getting your dog out there and winning, it gives me a real boost watching him go around,” Shoobert said.
So how does an 82-year-old fellow from Florey in the nations capital, who had three training wins to his name between 2019 and 2023, end up with one of the hottest young talents in the state?
Hooked On Fame after another win at Dapto
Enter Queenslander breeder and trainer Brent Kline.
“You’re ringing about Hooked On Fame aren’t you? You don’t need to rub it in,” Kline laughed jokingly.
“I sold the dog as a three-month-old pup to Fred and am more than happy to see him go around and run well every week, it’s awesome, no regrets and I’m rapt for him,” he added.
“When Fred purchased him, he asked him if I knew anyone who could rear the dog. I kept a few from the litter so I said I’d get Hooked On Fame reared with mine and we knew from day one he was going to be a special dog,” he said.
The decision to sell Hooked On Fame not one Kline spends time dwelling on yet, instead choosing to poke fun at his decision to pass on champion bitch She’s A Pearl as a youngster instead.
“I’m actually heading to the Rocky Cup heats today with Keen who is a litter brother to She’s A Pearl. Keen is group three winner and has been a really good race dog, but I could have had She’s A Pearl when she was breaking in,” Kline said jovially.
“I was mates with Greg Sprod and Tyronne Whittington and they were telling me the early times of the litter and the boys were a bit faster than the girls. She’s A Pearl was the slowest of the four on offer so I took Keen and the rest is history,” he said.
The Karalee-based trainer not kicking stones though, instead focusing on his own training and breeding operation, with his line out of brood bitch Shilo starting to make their mark on tracks all over Australia.
“I purchased Shilo for $6000 from Debbie Cannon and I bought her because she’s a Fernando Bale. But the grand dam is a Barcia Bale and I knew the Zambora Brockie cross worked really well with that line,” Kline said.
“There was a litter with Zambora Smokey and Zambora Lou not long ago that were going really, really well, so I used Zambora Brockie with the first litter and that produced Isurava who was in a Group 1 final in Hobart at less than two-years of age,” he said.
“And the second litter out of Shilo is by Hooked On Scotch. So far we’ve got Hooked On Fame, Carton Of Bear who I train but don’t own [five wins from 10 starts] and Lippy Kid is owned by Andrew Webb [four wins from eight starts all going well,” he said.
“When I watch from afar, Hooked On Fame runs exactly the same as Carton Of Bear. They have the same mannerisms, same walk, same tail position, you can tell they’re brothers and they’re both big strong, proper race dogs,” he said.
The breeding lines perking the interest of Shoobert, with his savvy acquisition coming after scouring the greyhound data website.
“I wanted a Hooked On Scotch pup because of the Fernando and Barcia Bale cross. If you can get that crossover, sometimes you get some decent dogs out of it,” Shoobert said.
“Hooked On Fame is quite a nice dog and the whole litter is very smart. I’m a bit up in the air about what to do with him next but I think it’s time to start stepping him up in distance. I might go to Goulburn over 350m or Nowra has the 365m start. He’s only going over these little bloody sprints at the moment so I need to build him up to cover 500,” he added.
The process an enjoyable one for Shoobert and his son Bradley as they try and map out a plan for their undefeated speedster.
“It’s always interesting stepping them up in trip or grade. Once you get in with other really good dogs, it’s hard work. Even She’s A Pearl gets beaten from time to time so Hooked On Fame has got a bit more work to do before we get ahead of ourselves,” he said.
“And even if he doesn’t take the next step, I just love my dogs, even if they’re not so fast. I like taking them to the races and it’s fun and enjoyable for them too. They’re jumping out of their skin to race and so am I. It’s not all beer and skittles, it’s hard work too, but I like to have a punt and have a night out at the dogs so hopefully that can continue with this guy,” he added.
Hooked On Fame has won his five career starts by a combined 24.25 lengths and has so far earned $7,200 in prizemoney.
