Veteran Northern Rivers trainer Pat Lavis got his first greyhound from a dog pound in 1972, but has won hundreds of races since and will have his first Maitland Cup starters when he brings Bold Gambler, Edge Gambler, Identity Unknown, and Pronouns to the famous Hunter Valley track on Thursday.
"I've never bothered chasing the big races but my son Damien and his family, including my two grand-kids, aged eight and 17, live 10 minutes from the Maitland track so I figured I could catch up with them and maybe make a few dollars at the same time,'' Lavis said.
"My first greyhound was named After Billy and I got him for nothing from the Ballina dog pound.
"Because of how I obtained him I had to track down After Billy's previous owner to secure the dog's racing papers.
"He won first-up by eight lengths at Lismore for me and I've been hooked on the sport ever since."
"Bold Gambler and Edge Gambler have won 39 races between them while Identity Uknown, who is very smart, has won 11 from 35 starts and the talented Pronouns has won six out of 17.''
Lavis trains Bold Gambler and Edge Gambler for the Brave Gambler Syndicate, managed by Dianne Stollery, the daughter-in-law of the late John Stollery, arguably the most fearless and big betting bookmaker Sydney has seen.
Not only is she John Stollery's daughter-in-law, but Dianne is the daughter of the late great trainer Max Burdekin, who won the 2008 Golden Easter Egg with Blazing Token and whose greyhound Most Awesome dead-heated with Hall Northern in the 2003 Australian Cup.
Lavis rates Mincin' Machine and Western Dave, who won 46 races between 2014 and 2017 as the best he has trained.
But ominously, he declared: "That opinion could change after the Maitland Cup.''
Fusion Mint will see the track for the first time when she exits box two in heat four of the East Maitland Bowling Club Cup on Thursday but she goes into the race boasting a remarkable statistic.
Bred, owned and trained by Wes McDonald, Fusion Mint has not only won 10 of her 18 races but in each of those victories has recorded the fastest time of the meeting.
She has clocked near record times over 400m at Dubbo and 440m at Goulburn but her trainer said: "I am a greenkeeper at a private school and work commitments prevented me taking Fusion Mint to Maitland for a trial.
"But she has always handled new tracks capably.
"Fusion Mint is from the second litter whelped by my bitch Midnight Romba, who won just one race from a handful of starts.
"But I bought her as a brood bitch because she is by Shakey Jakey, the former Wentworth Park record holder, from Midnight News, who is from a great dam line.
"Midnight Romba's first litter to Fernando Bale included Fusion Manu, who won 11 of 31 starts, while the second litter, by Hooked On Scotch, comprises Fusion Mint and also three greyhounds named Fusion Flower, Fusion Mouse and Fusion Rose, who have already won 13 of their 30 races.''
For Wes McDonald, whose brother Rodney trained the 2009 Golden Easter Egg winner Dana Beatrice, Fusion Mint will be his first runner in the Group 2 Maitland Cup.
