Soiree's success in Friday night's $250,000 to the winner The Ladbrokes 715 at The Gardens was further proof that Southern Highlands breeders Sonia and Peter Davis were indeed the quiet achievers of Australian greyhound breeding.
Peter got his first dog in 1982 before becoming a greyhound racing journalist but he and his wife Sonia are now among Australia's most successful breeders, with their involvement in that facet of the sport culminating in Friday night's win by their bitch Soiree.
Sonia and Peter bred Soiree, who has now won nine races for well over $307,000, from their bitch Shishkin.
Their 715 winner, trained in Queensland by Tom Tzouvelis, is a true home-grown product, as Shishkin is a daughter of their prolific Mark Gatt-trained bitch Sherbini, who was produced by the unraced bitch Hidden Assets.
"And while Soiree is trained in Queensland, please be aware that she, like all our stock, is a dyed-in-the-wool NSW greyhound,'' Peter Davis said.
"Sonia and I moved onto 7.28ha at Pheasants Nest, south of Picton, 14 years ago, and we now have 15 brood bitches plus puppies.
"All of them are offspring of either Sherbini or Sawadee, the dam of Shaye, Showdown and Sunburst, each of them a group race winner.
"Sherbini's progeny include Shaula, the Million Dollar Chase Maiden winner who clocked 29.33 at Wentworth Park, Scarlatti, whose 13 wins earned $176,000, and Saanvi, whose 22 wins garnered $248,000.
"Sonia and I organise the breeding and whelp the puppies at our place, but when they are ready to be reared they go to Marty and Fiona Hallinan's property at Clergate.
"We decided long ago not to attempt to do everything and it has worked out well."
"Fortunately we have never had to advertise a pup, because we obviously can't keep them all, and they are all sold through word of mouth.
"While a lot of heartbreak comes along in what we do, the joy of the rewards that come when we win a race like Soiree did on Friday night are indescrible.
"Only stud dog we have on our property is Zack Monelli, the sire of Soiree, but while he doesn't get much work he is happy here.
"At the moment we have a dozen puppies by Fernando Bale from Scarlatti along with seven Zack Monelli youngsters whelped by Sherbini's daughter Sorority, who won $165,000.
"Stud dogs we have used more recently are Feral Franky and Shima Shine.
"When we decided to go into breeding on a reasonably large scale I spoke at length to the legendary breeder, the late Paul Wheeler, and his advice was invaluable.
"Every greyhound we have descends from one family and Sherbini is among them.
"Eight of Sherbini's offspring have each won over $100,000, and I believe that is an Australian record.''
