For Dawn Garrett to say that watching last week’s win by Blue Goose Boy in the heats of the Group 2 Beast Unleashed Gosford Gold Cup was the most excited she has ever been, is some kind of statement when you look at the dogs she has owned, bred or trained over the years.
Beast Unleashed won the $150,000 Launching Pad in 2018 in Melbourne, and the 2019 Gosford Gold Cup a week after breaking the track record there. Barcia Blue Boy won the 2021 Bulli Gold Cup and eight of his 12 starts before injury cut short his career. Vicki’s Queen was in the Group 1 finals of the Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg and the Paws of Thunder in 2021, and not to mention Dawn also bred one-time Wentworth Park track record holder Punch One Out.
“I think it’s the most excited I have ever been,” Dawn said of last week’s heat which saw Blue Goose Boy race away for an empathic win and secure his spot in Friday’s final.
“You know how he races (coming from behind), and that’s especially not suited to Gosford and he had never been there either, he hadn’t even looked at the track, and to be honest, if I had any say, I would have said no don’t take him. I am glad he (trainer Graeme Jose) didn’t ask me.
“I think because we sponsor the race, it does add to it on Friday night. A few people forget I am a part-owner (of Beast Unleashed) because I’m not around anymore since I moved to Victoria six months ago, but I will be flying up for Friday’s race, and a few people have said to me I could be presenting the trophy to myself.”
Dawn’s involvement in the sport began when as a nine-year-old, her and her sister were dragged along by their mother to a Tupperware Party. The hosts had greyhounds and Dawn was soon hooked, spending weekends and school holidays helping with the dogs and her love for greyhounds just continued to grow from there until she eventually began owning and training and then breeding.
“My first good dog turned out to be my old brood bitch, Litte Egyptian,” Dawn recalled. “She was the start of it all and I bred with her and a lot of people said I shouldn’t have. She won 11 races but a few were on country tracks and at The Gardens and what have you, but I took the plunge and did it and I went to Knocka Norris and she produced Punch One Out. That whole litter were pretty good.
“She finished up having four litters and the last one by Where’s Pedro, produced a couple of good dogs including Egyptian Pirate who two or three in the city over 700m.
“And I had Zipping Kelly who has been a very good producer. Her Beast Unleashed litter produced this dog, Blue Goose Boy and Nad Al Sheba, and her next litter to Fernando Bale has produced Caroline Hughes’ very good pair West Rock Casey and Late Night News.”
Dawn moved to Victoria from NSW about six months ago looking for “a fresh start” and her dogs are now trained by Graeme Jose.
“I have known him for a few years. When I had Pride of Egypt, which was out of Punch One Out’s litter, someone suggested Graeme to me as a trainer down there and I sent that dog down to him down towards the end of his career.”
Blue Goose Boy has drawn box 5 in the Cup Final, and will be one of the outsiders in a field that has been thrown open following the scratching of early favourite and defending champion Good Odds Cobber.
Jason Magri - who 12 months ago had to scratch the pre-post favourite Zipping Novak from the Cup Final – has the early favourite Chief Lightning who won his heat in the best of the night 29.12s last Friday. Magri also has Speedy Pie who won her heat in 29.29s engaged in the final, but there are several other chances in a wide open decider.
