Kibble and Biscuits - Greyhounds Queensland

TRAINING ... The Darren McDonald Waybreak down, retire etc etc,” he said.“I get a lot of dogs from different people.It depends on who gives me the dog whateducation needs to be done.”McDonald only ever has two or three pupsbeing reared on his property at any one time,preferring someone else to do that side of thebusiness and specially because his is a racingkennel and not really set up for rearing.“I never send my pups away to be brokenin before they are 14 months old,” he said. “Ilike to hold them back because I do not spellthem after breaking in.”He will bring the pups into the kennelblock for a few weeks of handling to get usedto the kennel block routine, being handled etcbefore they are educated.He does not gallop the pups up a straighttrack prior to breaking in, but they do go intohis 100mx20m galloping paddock each day.EDUCATIONOnce a dog is broken in, McDonaldNEVER returns the dog to a trial track unlessthere is an issue with the dog’s chasinginstincts.“I keep going with the dog after it comeshome from breaking in,” he said.“I like to keep a young dog coming out ofthe boxes and I will trial the dog on eight or10 different tracks before we put them into arace.”He usually heads to Geelong for two 347mtrials, then to Warragul for two 424m trials.“I insist on educating our pups very well andon a lot of tracks. We have the luxury ofhaving a lot of different tracks within a shortdrive from our kennels,” he said.All these early trials are solo.“My pups will have six to eight solo trials,which means two runs on four different tracks,before I get ready to put them into field trials,”he said.Being Darren McDonald causes problemsas well.“I find it really hard to get trainers to goin against my young dogs in half field trials,”he said.“But trials are held after race meetings atBallarat, Bendigo, Shepparton, Geelong andWarragul and we will take the pups there forhalf field trials."You have to go into these trials to get arun after the race meeting.“This is where we educate our pups evenfurther.“We go twice to every track for a half fieldtrial.”WORDS OF WISDOMMcDonald says the grading system inVictoria often forces dogs into city racesbefore they are ready.“But Axe Handle had 25 starts onprovincial tracks before he had his first startin town,” he said. “But Pure Octane never hada race on a provincial track.”Ned Bryant told McDonald many, manywords of wisdom, but the one piece of advicehe instilled into him was to always make surea dog trialled on a racetrack before having arace there.“I have done this religiously,” he said. “Ialways make the effort even if we are racingin Brisbane, Sydney or Perth.“It gives me peace of mind and does thesame for the dog. I train for a lot of peopleand I am sure they would want every thingpossibly done to win the race. Trialling onthe track is one of those things.”GETTING A STARTDarren was lucky to begin with. His unclewas Brian Lenahan one of Victoria’s mostsuccessful breeders.Darren McDonald andone of his latter daysprint stars Axe Handleon their way to the startof the recent GoldCoast Cup.“I spent a lot of time working on myuncle’s property feeding pups and generallyworking with the dogs, getting to knoweverything about them,” he said.“He had the Sydney Gem line and NedBryant trained Sydney Dingaan to win theMelbourne Cup.”One of the first dogs Darren got to trainwas Sydney Dingaan. She’d had a litter ofpups and was brought back to racing for ashort campaign of seven starts. Darren wonfour and was placed second three times withher.He says Brett Lee is easily the best doghe has trained.“He has changed the face of greyhoundracing in Australia,” said Darren. “We paid$100,000 for him but now owners thinknothing of pay $250,000 for a half share in apotential stud dog.”He says Brett Lee knew he was a superstar.“He pranced around like he owned theplace. He knew he was good,” said Darren.“Look at what he has done. He’s taken servicefees to a new level, dog prices to a new level,and pup prices to a new level, all because ofhim.”But Brett Lee isn’t the only star to haveemerged from Devon Meadows.Darren has guided such dogs as PureOctane, Hallucinate, Collide, Wild Pirate,Black Pirate, Sheedy, Magnificent Love,Ashigga, Carlton Bale, Hades Rocket andnow Axe Handle and even Texas Gold at theend of his career.Cool Effort is a current day star and hehad great success with Ace Hi Rumble andHot To Rumble recently.INDIVIDUALSMcDonald is insistent that greyhoundtraining is not the army.“We treat each dog as an individual,” hesaid.“And we don’t really give a dog a spellmainly because injuries are such a factor ingreyhound racing that they get time off witheach injury, especially fast dogs.”He only ever races his dogs at most oncea week. “That’s just the way I train,” he said.“I’m not saying that you can’t race two ofthree times a week, but it’s just not my style.“But there is no right or wrong way totraining, just a system that suits eachindividual dog.”He’s not one to consider the close inbreedingof today’s greyhounds.“You might get a faster dog but bybreeding so close we tend to get moreinjuries,” he warned.INJURIESHe has spent so much time and learnt somuch from that great man of muscle checking,Ned Bryant, Darren says he checks his dogsover himself after every gallop, trial or race.But he also gets local vet Barry Haywardto check over every racing dog as well afterevery race start.“Barry worked for so many years withAlex Hauler and he is just around the cornerfrom my kennels, so we use him all the time,”he said.“You have always got to have a secondopinion. Ned taught me that himself. Hewould always check over his own dogs, butalways get a second opinion. You need amentor.”He has all the necessary equipment likean ultrasound and laser but has become a hugefan of the hyperbaric chamber.“I had never used it before until justrecently and got unbelievable results from it,”he said.FUTUREDarren McDonald sees himself doing inthe future exactly what he is doing today.“Prizemoney is good, the racing is good.I know we don’t have the perfect world ingreyhound racing, but show me where theperfect world is,” he said.He agrees that to stay at the top you needthe best stock. “But getting the best out ofthem is something you have to do,” he said.“But anyone who dedicates himself orherself to this industry will do well.”He says John Finn and Steve Kavanaghare two greyhound men he admires. “Theyare the complete package, breeding, rearing,and training their dogs to great success,” hesaid. “There is a lot of satisfaction andachievement in doing that.”His great mate Tony Lockett continues tosend him star gallopers. “Tony and I havebeen friends for many years. He’s got himselfsome great damlines now and we are allreaping the benefit.”That’s for sure.White Rose Boarding KennelsWalloon, IpswichRearing - Spelling - WhelpingQuality fresh food, lots of handling & socializing.Lead Training.70mtr grassed long runs. Large exercise areas.Very high standard kenneling.Hydro bath facilities.Supporters of the Greyhound Adoption ProgramLicensed/Registered & Approved by:-QGRA, Qld state government, Ipswich City Council.Good Rearing doesn't cost ... it paysPh. Peter & Marion Furbank. (07) 54645422E.Mail whiterosekennels@bigpond.comThe (September, 2007) Journal Page 11