Kibble and Biscuits - Greyhounds Queensland

LEFT: Rylee's Revenge holds on to winthe Group 2 Ipswich Auction final.BELOW: Rylee, Greg and Michelle Stellawith their Group 2 winner.IT'S not as though Greg and MichelleStella are quitting greyhound racing, justtaking the opportunity to wind down for awhile.With the couple expecting their secondchild (a girl) in a few months, the seven-daya week restrictions of a thriving racing kennelwill have to take a back seat to child rearing."We'll still have a couple of dogs in work,and still have a broodbitch or two to mateand their pups to rear," said Greg. "But wewill cut down for a while and switch ourpriorities."Rylee's Revenge (Token Prince-TranquilTime) gave the couple a better than could beexpected send off when he led throughout towin the Group 2 Ipswich Auction final.It was a case of third time lucky for theStellas who had also had Rylee's Rewardfinish third to Fool's State and Rylee's Raiderfinish sixth to Don Paco in the previous twoyears.Rylee's Revenge is a real example of Gregand Michelle sticking with their damline andmaking the most of it.Greg moved to his Park Ridge property,first established by Ray and Anne Helton (ofGallant Anne fame) in 1991. One of hisregular visitors for the winter was Gary Inneswho he had met while on a trip to Victoria afew years earlier.Gary brought a bitch called Easy Fashionwith him on one trip and went to Toowoombawith her to win a Cannonball in 25.79 whenthe 457m track record was then held byCredibility at 25.60.At the time Gary Innes was training forDoug Dixon and one of those was EasyFashion."When Gary took Easy Fashion home toVictoria she won at both Olympic Park andSandown," said Greg. "He brought her backthe following year and she won a FFA at theREVENGE!Gold Coast."Greg couldn't help but notice the bitch adaughter of Walkabout Sid-Winning Fashionand a sister to Dixon's top flight galloper StarAffair."Just a few months later Gary rang andasked if I wanted to buy Easy Fashion," saidGreg. "Doug had too many bitches and couldnot breed with them all. I bought EasyFashion, a 31.5kg bitch for $1500 and a pupto go to Doug from her first two litters."So Easy Fashion went to Park Ridge andGreg and Michelle waited for her to come onseason ... and waited."She was five and a half before she did."The Stellas had litters to Acacia Ablazeand their own dog Shape Shifter with EasyFashion.Among the Acacia Ablaze litter wasTranquil Time. "She was the best bitch in thelitter and she had plenty of ability," said Greg.Tranquil Time raced 22 times before astopper bone injury halter her career."She ran 30.48 for 512m at Ipswich andhad trialled 25.27 there in 1999 which wassomething then," said Greg."She also ran 25.90 at Toowoomba,trialled 30.60 at Albion Park when young andwon at Capalaba and the Gold Coast as well."She was a 29kg bitch and had a very goodtemperament."As a broodbitch she suited Greg andMichelle perfectly.Her bloodlines were relatively free ofTemlee. Her first litter to Just The Bestproduced the flying Rylee's Rumour and hisMalawiMalawi's PrinceDuchess MarinaToken PrinceAmerigo ManTrue TemptationBay SupremeRYLEE'S REVENGEAcacia ParkAcacia AblazeWatusi RoseTranquil TimeWalkabout SidEasy FashionWinning Fashionstar sister Tranquil Touch and she's beenproducing good dogs ever since."The line lacks strength," admits Greg.But it also has class and speed to burn."Every pup she has produced has won."Unfortunately Tranquil Time has neverbeen one to have big litters. In fact, from herfour litters to date, two to Just The Best andtwo to Token Prince, she has whelped only12 pups.She recently missed to Black Enforcer andthe Stellas have decided to retire her.Rylee's Revenge was a natural from thetime the Stellas put him into work."He came to hand very quickly and ran25.56 at Ipswich over 431m at 17 months oldafter just two slips on the track," said Greg.The dog made the Vince Curry Maidenfinal but was dragged down when pushingtowards the lead, but made amends in theAuction final."We have no intention of selling ourproperty and getting out of greyhoundracing," said Greg."We'll extend the house and update a fewIpswich Auction (520m)1 RYLEE'S REVENGE $5(Token Prince-Tranquil Time)Owner: Greg StellaTrainer: Michelle Stella2 EISWEIN $18(Just The Best-Impatient Fool)3 DANCE ONA DIME $1.50(Elite State-Criticize)Others: 4 Bears Diamond $18, 5 SpeedyPants $16, 6 Nevada Lad $40, 7 Spear OfDestiny $20, 8 Hoi Poloi $9. Time: 31.01.things around the place. Park Ridge is veryconvenient to all the racetracks and we likeliving here."The Stellas have been in greyhound racingfull time for the past 15 years and admit tolooking forward to a break.He has a number of bitches mated or tomate soon and will see how his next crop ofpups break in within the next year."I like breeding greyhounds and we haveto give the bitches we've got a chance," hesaid. "I may even farm out some of the racingdogs to other trainers."I'll probably need a full time assistantwhen I come back to training full time," saidGreg. He could always breed one ... or is thatwhat he's doing?CONTAINSBOVINECOLOSTRUM50g/kgSuper-Cell is a specificallydeveloped supplementrecommended for thegreyhound. Super-Cell can safelybe used throughout all stages ofthe greyhounds career, to helpprovide the vitamin and mineralrequirements of the animal.Super-Cell contains a blend ofVitamins, Minerals, Iron, AllEssential Amino Acids andBovine Colostrum.SUPER-CELL4 GREYHOUNDSSuper-Cell can simply besprinkled on top of the meal eachday at the recommendeddosages found on the side of thelabel.GOOD NUTRITION is essential for GOOD RACING!The (June, 2006) Journal Page 13