Con Hansimikali, breeder and owner of Thursday's Dapto winners Fancy Bella and Fancy Lena, gives total credit to their trainer Lakis Michael for persuading him to breed from their dam after that duo formed part of a winning treble for their Pheasants Nest trainer.
Michael, who began training three decades ago, won 520m races at Dapto with Fancy Lena in 29.96 and Fancy Bella in 30.03 as well as scoring in a 297m sprint with Magic Linkin in 17.11.
Hansimikali said: "Lakis trained a bitch called Wicked Bella for me and as she won just six from 55 races, only short course events over 340m at Bulli and 365m at Nowra, I had no intention of breeding from her."
"But Lakis begged me to get a litter from her, because she was bred by Dennis Barnes, whose breed had provided him with plenty of success, and also because he believed Wicked Bella had the conformation and temperament to produce quality puppies.
"So purely at Lakis' insistence I mated Wicked Bella with Feral Franky and her offspring include Fancy Bella and Fancy Lena, who have already won a dozen races.
"They should keep getting better because the whole litter Wicked Bella whelped has been slow to mature but are just coming good now.''
Hansimikali was part-owner, with Socceroo star Tim Cahill, of the Wally Lutiger-trained Fancy Dean, a NSW Sprint Championship winner who had 29 wins and 37 placings from 85 starts in 2011 and 2012.
Lakis Michael has only six greyhounds in his kennels but the retired motor mechanic enjoys an impressive strike rate.
"Quickest of my team is Jet Linkin, who has won nine from 23 races but has not yet fulfilled his true potential,'' Michael said.
Jet Linkin
"From when I was a teenager a mate and I used to catch public transport to go to Wentworth Park dogs and through regular visits to the track I became keen to get involved in the sport.
"Then later I was a young mechanic apprenticed to a fellow who owned Olympic Thunder, a top class stayer of the mid-70s who was prepared by a great trainer, the late Roy Heath.
"I got my first dog 33 years ago when I was 30, and have had my share of handy greyhounds.
"Undoubtedly the best have been Sparkling Spirit, who won the Vic Peters Classic in 1992 and a very fast dog called Time Travels. (When Sparkling Spirit beat Iago and Deanne's Dancer in the '92 final, it was to be the last Vic Peters held on Wentworth Park's grass surface).
"Sparkling Spirit was not as quick as Time Travels and never clocked fast times but he was simply a truly professional race dog.
"I was still working as a mechanic until Covid struck a few years back and that's when I quit to become a full-time greyhound trainer.
"The dam of Fancy Bella and Fancy Lena, two of my winners on Thursday, was bred by Dennis Barnes, and I have had a lot of success with his breed.
"I got a real kick along when I bought a bitch called Sweet Nangar from Dennis Barnes in early 2018.
"I had approached him wanting to buy a male dog but Dennis told me the only greyhound he could sell me was a bitch called Sweet Nangar.
"She had been unplaced in her only two starts for him but he assured me she had abilty and sure enough, shortly after I got her, Sweet Nangar won first up for me at Goulburn in June, 2018.
"Sweet Nangar went on to win 21 races and fill 14 placings from 47 starts for me and she has also been very successful in the breeding barn.''
