Danny Mason, who took out a trainer's licence in 2020, landed his first Wentworth Park winner on Thursday night with a greyhound which cost him only $3,000.
Mason, a hobby trainer whose kennels are on a suburban block at suburban Guildford, 25km west of Wentworth Park, won with Sleek Apollo, who led all the way to win a 520m fifth-grade heat in 30.04.
It was a welcome result for Mason as only five nights earlier Sleek Apollo had made the pace to the home turn before being run down by the promising Son Of Bianca, who prevailed by a length-and-a-half in 29.88.
"Sleek Apollo was bred by Brian Mitchell and I selected him as a four month old puppy from a litter which were being reared by Troy Vella,'' Mason said.
"I'm 49 now but always liked having a bet on the greyhounds and a few years back I decided I should have a crack at owning and training them.
"I only have two greyhounds in my kennels, the other being Jungle Blast, who led early when second to Crazed in 29.77 at Wentworth Park on August 16."
Sleek Apollo
"I have my own carpet cleaning and upholstery business so really only have the time to look after a couple of greyhounds.
"But after finishing second with both Jungle Blast and Sleek Apollo at the Wentworth Park August 16 meeting, it was a huge thrill to finally get a winner in town last Thursday night.
"Jungle Blast has had nine wins and eight placings from 35 starts and looked like being really special until he sustained a minor injury."
Jungle Blast
"He is on the way back and the future looks bright for him and also for Sleek Apollo, who is improving all the time.
"Sleek Apollo got a bit tired when he finished second on August 16 and again when he won on Thursday night but he will get stronger.
"He has improved out of sight in the past few weeks and will keep getting better."
While Danny Mason is a relative newcomer to the sport, Thursday night's Wentworth Park meeting also saw the return to the winning list of 60-year-old Glenn Starr, whose family have been involved successfully for 90 years.
Starr, who owns and trains Crawford, impressive all-the-way winner of the NSW GBOTA Welcome Maiden, is the grandson of renowed Gunnedah breeder Bill Jones and nephew of Len Jones, a legendary trainer of the 1940s and 50s.
Bill Jones owned and bred Calmist, a daughter of Chief Havoc, Gunnedah's most famous greyhound, and she became a champion sprinter when trained at Crows Nest by Len Jones, Glenn Starr's uncle.
Calmist won 26 races on each of the 10 tracks on which she competed, and broke six course records in the process.
When mated to Shy Whisky she produced she produced the top class Sydney sprinter Whisky Jet along with Misting, who won 16 of only 32 starts.
Glenn Starr said: "I've been in the sport all my life, mainly rearing puppies on my property at Bathurst.
"But Crawford, who won at Wentworth Park on Thursday in 29.98, when he ran home in 11.80, is highly promising.
"He tends to play up in the starting boxes but came out cleanly on Thursday and led from the first turn.
"I think he can go a lot better too because he was suffering from tonsillitis after Thursday's race, so he did well to win so easily.''
