It’s a tick under eight hours from the small regional Queensland town of Beaudesert to Maitland in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.
But for Rodney Duff, owner of Maitland Future Stars Maiden finalist, Forged Iron, the trip would pale into insignificance if his charge can claim victory in Friday night’s $15,000 feature
“I’ve been in dogs a long time now and it’s nice when something a bit special comes along. This guy is a beautiful animal and he’s the most magnificent type…and I think he can win, I really do,” Duff said on Monday afternoon.
Forged Iron with trainer Kerry Schmitzer after claiming a heat of the Maitland Future Stars Maiden
“If he can get out of the boxes like he did last week, I’m sure he’ll lead. And if he gets out in front, he’ll be stronger home this time around. Box 5 is never ideal but if he can find the front, he’ll be in it a long way and give himself a real shot.”
“And people love it when a bit of a battler gets a crack. The Pete’s [Lagogiane] and Jason’s [Mackay] of this sport are unbelievable at what they do and they do a great job with so many greyhounds, but it’s nice for me and Kerry to get a crack at winning a race like this.”
Kerry Schmitzer being the trainer of Forged Iron.
The Taree-local given a chance with the talented youngster after impressing with another Duff greyhound.
“I had a dog called Stockton Slap down with Mark Gatt but he probably wasn’t quite up to standard, so I rang Kerry and asked him to take him and he’s done alright since. That was enough for me,” Duff said.
“It’s bloody hard to get a trainer at the moment because a lot of kennels are full but a good mate of mine said, “why don’t you give Kerry Schmiitzer a go” when I was trying to place him. My mate said his dogs always look unbelievable and super healthy.”
The 51-year-old Duff ecstatic with Forged Iron’s debut performance, a 22.29 heat win – the second fastest of the six Future Stars preliminaries.
“I always thought this guy could run and I knew he was going OK but Kerry has worked his magic because I had no idea that sort of effort was coming,” Duff proclaimed.
“The run surprised me on one hand, but it didn’t on the other. His brother, Hook Me, won the big maiden event at Capalaba recently so the talent is there. And their mother [Javens] was pretty handy in her own right.”
“They’re all beautifully bred out of that She’s Scandalous line which has produced some great chasers [Kenny The Brute and Bobby The Brute won $300,000 between them] and Javens sister, Oski, could have been anything before injury.”
“But I'm looking forward to getting back down to Maitland. I lived in Port Stephens for 15 years and ran second in a Black Top with Bent so I've got some good memories in that part of the world. It's a fair way from where I am now in Beaudesert (QLD) but it’ll be good to get back to the old stomping ground and have a few beers with everyone."
The Maitland Future Stars maiden final will be held this Friday, December 6 with the winner taking home $15,000.
