Solo Fernando, the greyhound who has his own bedroom in owner-trainer Logan Howden's house on the NSW central coast, will be chasing his 22nd win at his 122nd start at Maitland on Monday night.
The dog, who has had five different trainers, has found a new lease of life with Howden, winning his past two 388m races at Gosford in a sizzling 22.01 and a slick 22.26.
Howden, a 25-year-old roof tiler, has held a trainer's licence for less than 12 months and Solo Fernando is the only dog he currently has racing.
"Because I regularly work at places as far afield as Coffs Harbour and Canberra, my dad Michael, who trained greyhounds and passed his knowledge on to me, along with my wife Hayley, are a big help in getting Solo Fernando to the track in good shape,'' Howden said.
"Solo Fernando is a real competitor, because he has never gone quicker than 22.40 in solo trials at Gosford yet goes much faster in races there.
"Because he has turned four he is eligible for Masters races and I think he is a special in that grade at Maitland on Monday.
"Solo Fernando has been placed a couple of times over 520m at Wentworth Park and has clocked 29.99 there but he will only be going back there for Masters events from now on.
"Although Solo Fernando has had a lot of trainers he came to me in beautiful condition and is a credit to those who had him previously.
"I have a couple of kennels at home but rarely use them because Solo Fernando has his own room in our house which he shares with his best mate, our three-year-old French bulldog called Cleo.''
Solo Fernando and Logan Howden
Solo Fernando was bred by Michael Jones and the dog's original trainer Alan Proctor said: "He is typical of the progeny of Fernando Bale, a lot of them take time to reach their peak.
"But Solo Fernando always did have a lovely nature and when he moved on from our kennels my wife Christine was very sorry to see him go.''
Logan Howden became hooked on greyhound racing as a six-year-old while watching the exploits of 2004 Australian Greyhound of the Year Whisky Assassin.
Howden added: "What I like best about this sport is the people who are involved, they are truly the salt of the earth.
"When I'm at the races I love assisting older people who have any difficulty putting their greyhounds in the starting boxes.''
Solo Fernando
Jungle Johhny will be set for next month's $100,000 Ladbrokes Country Classic at Dubbo following his sensational near record middle distance debut at Dapto on Thursday night.
Jungle Johnny railed to the lead soon after the start and won easily, stopping the clock at 33.96 for the 600m trip.
That took .03sec off the old record set by Bandit Jane in 2022 and was a mere .04sec wide of the new time standard established by Might Have Been in October.
"Jungle Johnny is not yet two and I rushed him a bit to get him into the National Derby series but he ran second to Paw Oswald in the final last month.
"Because of that Jungle Johnny has lost a few low grades but he is such a clean winded dog I knew he would be suited by a middle distance.
"The big Dubbo 605m race, with the final on March 22, looks an ideal option for him.''
