Back in 2017, Sydney-based plumber Chenhao Sun was excited by the prospect of buying his first ever greyhound.
Sun, or ‘Vincent’ as his friends know him, had been speaking with friends who spoke fondly of the dogs and the thrill of taking them to the races.
“The more we talked, the more I started taking an interest. I just started falling in love with the dogs, it seemed super cool to own a greyhound. And if you were lucky, you could have a lot of fun and make some money too,” Sun said.
So after numerous hours scouring the Greyhound Data website, 'Vincent' thought he’d found his dog.
He picked up the phone and called the prospective seller – Gordon ‘Sloy’ Sciberras.
“When he [Sun] first rang me, I’ll be honest, he had no idea what he was doing, but he was keen and just wanted to be involved,” Sciberras laughed.
“This is how new they were to the sport. Him and his mate used to go to Wentworth Park and bet on the dogs, big bets, and they didn’t realise there was a third dividend. So they would throw the ticket away if their runner came third.”
“Anyway, I had a dog for sale that he was interested in so he asked a lot of questions and was pretty keen. This dog was country class at best though so I was unsure what his plan was, then he said it was OK because Luke Azzopardi would train it. I knew Luke wouldn't take this dog on so that’s when I offered to help him."
‘Sloy’ was born and raised in Darlinghurst and his old man, Joe Scibberas, grew up racing dogs with the likes of Frank Gatt and Tony Magri.
He was partners with Barbara Spackman when the pair had a mountain of success with Little Mother – a five-time Group 1 winner and victor of 85 race starts in New Zealand.
And more recently, he’d struck up a healthy owner-trainer bond with Vic Sultana and his son Darren.
The now 67-year-old had been around the block a few times and felt well equipped to give ‘Vincent’ a helping hand as he chased his greyhound dream.
“I laugh about it now because he first rang me wanting a $500 country dog and ended up with a multiple group finalist and a brood bitch for life. And her sister," Sciberras said.
The dogs ‘Sloy’ speaks about are Million Dollar Chase placegetter and Group-level sprinter Sky Wave (seen running third below) and her littermate, 16-time winner Elusive Wave.
“Mr Gordon helped me get them after they were broken in. His friend wanted to sell the pups so I bought them both for $10,000,” Sun said.
And what an investment it turned out to be.
The duo went on to have fine chasing careers under the tutelage of the Sultana's, retiring with a combined 118 race starts, and after earning more than $235,000 in prizemoney.
It was a home run for a very unlikely quartet, and the good times have continued.
Sky Wave’s success on the track as a Group 3 winner and NSW National Sprint winner in 2018 has transferred to the breeding barn, where her first litter by Fernando Bale produced Remember This (13 wins from 29 starts) and Choo Choo Train (G2 Magic Maiden placegetter behind Zipping Novak in 2022).
‘Vincent’ gifting Remember This and Choo Choo Train to the Sultanas and ‘Sloy’ respectively as a token of his appreciation.
“Mr Gordon is my greyhound manager and Vic and Darren Sultana are my trainers and they help me with everything. But we have become very good friends and I owe my success to them,” Sun said.
Sky Wave’s second litter though, courtesy of Barcia Bale, all belong to 'Vincent'.
And it includes 2023 Ladbrokes Zoom Top Maiden finalist, Mario Wave, with the Vic and Darren Sultana-trained chaser set to jump from Box 6 in Friday’s $25,000 decider.
“I thought he went pretty good last week. We threw him in for a bit of experience but he jumped well and got to the front, made a few little mistakes swinging for home which cost him a bit of time. But it was a good run,” Darren Sultana said.
“He probably could have broken 25 [seconds] but they don’t write the time on the cheque so it doesn’t matter.”
“He’s going to need a lot of luck in the final. Young dogs make mistakes and you want to stay out of trouble so Box 6 probably won’t help but I think he’ll improve with racing.”
“The Fernando Bale litter came good with a bit of age and took a bit longer to find their feet. They weren’t hopeless [as pups] but as they have got older they have started to show something.”
Darren Sultana with 2023 Ladbrokes Zoom Top Finalist Mario Wave
A budding breeding line adding another exciting chapter to the story of Chenhao Sun, a man now firmly bitten by the greyhound bug.
“Sky Wave has a third litter to Feral Franky as well and those pups are only five-months-old so I can’t wait for them to race,” Sun said.
“I grew up in China and lots of people there now love the sport. I wanted to have some fun at the beginning but now I want to win the big races like a Million Dollar Chase. People all around are trying to find a champion to win it and prove they are the best. I want to do that too,” he said.
The Ladbrokes Zoom Top Maiden will be run in Race 6 at the Goulburn Greyhound Racing Club on Friday, August 4.
