Sue Smith breeds greyhounds for a need…a need for speed!
The Branxton-based mentor has produced a raft of electric beginners over the years alongside partner John Miles, none moreso than 2023 Thunderbolt champion Vamoose, but it’s an elusive Group 1 success she craves.
Enter multiple feature race placegetter My Hepburn and her half-brother, My Pharaoh.
The dynamic duo, both out of Smith’s brood bitch My Sapphire, set to tackle the heats of the newly named Ladbrokes Paul Wheeler - Simply The Best this Saturday night.
“I threw My Hepburn in the race last time and look how well she did…running second in that Group 1 final was the biggest moment of both our careers,” Smith proclaimed.
“I’m happy with where she’s at this time around but she did hurt an achilles midway through the year so it’s taken some hard work to get her back and she finds a hard race this weekend.
“We needed to help her regain her confidence when she got back to the track so she’s been in easier classes over shorter trips and her last three runs [all wins at Gosford and Gunnedah] have been more like the My Hepburn of old.
“I trialled her last weekend after the last at Wenty Park and she ran a good early section. The last little bit of her 500m racing has always been the worry. She can run 515m on her ear but that last five metres can catch up with her.
My Hepburn is no stranger to the $75,000 contest after running second in the race (when it was the Paws Of Thunder) to Dutch Riot in January this year.
My Hepburn (L) after running second to Dutch Riot (C) in the 2024 Ladbrokes Paw Of Thunder final
My Pharaoh on the other hand is the new kid on the block.
The lightly-raced prospect still scratching the surface of his potential despite already having a Young Star title in his keeping after a superb victory on Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase night in October.
Smith leaning towards the youngster as the better betting proposition after racing consistently at Wentworth Park over the last few months.
“He will run out the trip so he’s the better hope of the two but he’s still pretty new to the game. When I put him in the Young Star, he’d only had a post to post and one run at Wenty. So to do what he did was pretty impressive,” Smith said.
“Two weeks later though he was in against Minnie Finn’s group dogs and then he was in against Andy Lord’s good dog in another free for all race. He’d won six races total and although I didn’t think he should have been in races like that, he still acquitted himself well.”
“He went back to fifth grade for his last two runs and he’s shown what he can do (a pair of victories in times of 29.62 and 29.81) and both his wins in town have come from Box 4 so we’ll try and make it three from three on Saturday night.
The seven-time winner carrying a unique moniker due to his quirky look.
“When he stands and has his ears pricked sideways…and because he’s so undershot…we thought he looked like dogs from back in the Cleopatra times. He looks like a pharaoh hound,” Smith added.
My Pharaoh beat home La Sagrada and Talk About Class to win the 2024 GRNSW Young Star final
Smith also pulling back the curtain on her next crop of emerging talent with a pup by Shima Shine out of My Sapphire already catching her eye.
“He’s a machine this guy. He’s only 12-months-old but he’s already a full on race dog,” Smith said excitedly.
“He’s 36kg and I’m just so rapt with him. He went through the GRNSW Richmond Puppy Auction and I bought him back. Noelene Holloway took him down for us that day and he was a real bugger for her. He wouldn’t walk up on the podium, he wouldn’t let them look at his teeth, he was a real head strong boy but gee he could be anything.”
Four heats of the Ladbrokes Paul Wheeler - Simply The Best will be contested this Saturday night at Wentworth Park.
The first two from each heat will progress to the $75,000 final, set to be run on Saturday, December 21.
