February'09 - Greyhounds Queensland

THERE was a time when Larry Jocumsenwanted to be an agricultural scientist.Graham, Larry’s older brother by nineyears, had already gone into that profession.But Larry’s mum had other ideas for his son.“Mum said, ‘you are going to be a vet’,and here I am,” said Larry, now 54 and stillliving on the rural property at Highvaleoutside Toowoomba where he has lived sincehe was four.And his influence in greyhound racingis still as strong today as it was when heventured into the industry by accident as auniversity student so many years ago.Larry’s dad Len and his mum May movedtheir family from Brisbane to Highvale whenLarry was four.“Dad was an accountant but all he wantedto do was grow strawberries and tomatoes,”said Larry. “We moved to a 72-acre propertyat Highvale into a two room house that had nopower or water.”It didn’t stop the Jocumsens making a goof their new life. And Larry headed off toQueensland Uni to stud vet science.“It was at uni that I got my firstgreyhound,” he said.Larry and a few mates were living in aflat at Toowong. He was at a BBQ oneweekend at a house that had two about-to-beretiredgreyhounds.“I took one of the bitches,” he said. “Tookher home as a pet but ended up breeding alitter. It was going to be one of those greatstories … giveaway broodbitch makes goodand provides saviour with a great dog.”But alas Screaming Lena, the bitch Larrytook home with him from that BBQ, didn’tlive up to her side of the story. “I thought itwas destiny but it didn’t happen,” he said.The pups were ordinary to say the least.Larry finished uni and in 1977 workedIGRCfor Northlands vet clinic, spending longhours in small animal practice learning histrade.By 1980 he had set up his own practiceand. He had been dabbling in greyhounds bythen and he got a lot of the work from thatindustry after that.Since Screaming Lena had tempted himinto the industry, Larry kept his interest bygoing racing as much as he could, evendriving the long distances from Toowoombato tracks like Lawnton each week.He took on training and quickly successcame his way.“I trained a dog called Biscuit Two forErnie Johnson,” said Larry. “Ernie justwalked into the surgery one day with BiscuitTwo on the end of a lead and asked me to trainhim.”A son of Rebel Attack and out of Elma’sFirst (a sister to greyhound of the year SolarBeach), Biscuit Two was a Lawnton sensationwho also won a couple at the Gabba, one in apedestrian 34 seconds.In one Capalaba win by Biscuit Two hedowned a bitch Phil Muller trained calledAnnerley Asset. It would be a prophetic day.“I’d always wanted to get a pup or two byPretty Short who by then was a top sire andgetting better all the time,” said Larry. “Philwanted to put Annerley Asset to PrettyShort.”Larry says Annerley Asset was “very fast,but a bit iffy on the circle”. She won all herraces up the straight at Capalaba. Larry paidfor the service and took half the litter.The litter could run … how they couldruhn.“I kept a bitch that I named No Liabilityand she was a sensation,” said Larry.At 16 months old No Liability got to thefinal of the Vince Curry Maiden at IpswichIpswich Greyhound Racing Club'Leadingthe Way'Major Race Dates2009 HIGHLAND SMASH REPAIRVINCE CURRY MEMORIAL MAIDENWinner $25,000 - 520 MetresQualifying Heats – Saturday February 7(In the event of insufficient nominations (less than 65) noqualifying heats will be conducted all runners to go direct to heatson 18/2/09. $33 nomination fee payable on whichever eventuates.Quarter Finals (8)– Wednesday February 18Semi Finals (4) – Wednesday February 25Final – Wednesday March 4Final Acceptance due on 30/01/09“Australia’s Richest Maiden Series – The Nursery of Champions.”Restaurant Open on Final Night – Bookings Required.Major Event2009 HIGHLAND SMASH REPAIR AUCTION RACE SERIESFINAL ACCEPTANCE PAYMENTIpswich Greyhound Racing ClubPh: 07 3202 2977 Fax: 07 3202 2510 Email:igrc@gil.com.auand led by three lengths on the home turn.“But she did a hip support and JimGrundon’s dog Gulpilil, who was trained byGary Cameron, got up on the line to beat her,”said Larry. “She did it so bad she didn’t makeit to the catching pen and I had to carry herback to the presentation area.”It would have been a second Vince Curryvictory for Larry who had trained Grundon’sKatie’s Lad in 1985 the inaugural winner ofthat now famed Group 2 series. He was a litterbrother to champion Kirsty’s First andNational Futurity winner Sophistication.When she came back to racing, NoLiability was a sensation winning “five orsix in a row at Toowoomba” and a race at theGabba but by the time she was two years andthree months she had broken down again andLarry retired her.“I decided to put her to stud because shecame on season not long after and I drove herdown to Worth Doing who had just gone tostud at a fee of $2000,” he said.The litter contained high class sprinterand future stud dog champion Credibility aswell as his top class sister No Hostility.The Credibility sireline is still dominanttoday, but Larry laments the damline haspetered out.“We got a lot of good gallopers out of NoLiability, like Relativity, Authenticity,Affability and won lots of races with them,”said Larry. “Affability won six races over600m in one month at Albion Park.Brett Lee-Nunkeri ByeBlack Lee(by Benjason)Sensational!Start to hisstud careerLarryloveshisdogsLarry withNo Hostility“Authenticity won a Ipswich Futurity.”She would produce Quinn The Eskimoand a smart dog Larry trained called TigerWould.“But the damline has been disappointingsince,” he said. “Every time I outcrossed itto an Irish line, the pups just wouldn’t chase.”By this time Larry had been in theindustry in a hands-on role for a couple ofdecades.When Toowoomba’s greyhound track hadto be closed, it made Larry bitter.“I was a bit bitter about that for sure,” hesaid. “I stopped breeding altogether.”But his interest in the industry hasn’twaned either professionally or with race dogs.“I’ve always bought a pup or two over theyears to give me a couple to rear in the threequartersof an acre we have here behind ourhome,” he said. “It gives me great pleasurebeing to spend time every afternoon after thestresses of work to go out and play with thosepups.”He’s been successful too.One was Timmy Says a 30.30 AlbionPark winner from the Dave Robartsonkennel who later went north to break a trackrecord at Mackay.“I loved that dog and he broke a hock inMackay, but I brought him home, fixed himup and found a home for him with some peoplein Toowoomba. They have got free vet carefor him for as long as he lives,” said Larry.Larry has dabbled in the frozen semenRocky Future StarsBlistering Speed 1stAraluen Tiger 3rdAlbion ParkShaka's Force 30.56 on debut28 wins from first 2 litters to race!Fee: $550 (incl GST)Wayne Crick (07) 55467617 or 0417 735935The (February, 2009) Journal Page 6