Kibble and Biscuits - Greyhounds Queensland

A CHINESE aversion to white dogs isbehind Max and June Hay’s comeback to cityclass greyhound racing and provided themwith their first Albion Park winner.Max and June were long-time greyhounddevotees from the early 1970s until they cameto Oxenford to retire in 1991.It was only a few months ago that Maxand June ventured back into training. Theracing bug, while dormant in Max for 15years, has bitten him again and bitten hard.He had at first been tempted to train a dogfor a couple of mates. “I got a bitch to trainfor these mates but at her first start for me atthe Tweed she fell and broke her back.”By this time Max, 66, was again feelingthe itch to train. “I’d got tempted to buy adog four months ago and paid $1500 forBell’s Pride from my old mate Paul Cauchi,”he said. Cauchi warned that Bell’s Pride couldnot run 520m but Max was looking moretowards the Tweed Galaxy.“I won three in a row with the dogincluding one by 15 lengths at the Tweed. Hewas then a reserve for the Capalaba Derbyfinal but dropped a hip support three weeksbefore the Galaxy,” said Max.“I still had that dog when I ventured overto Paul’s place one day to buy some meat.”Cauchi had a dog called Drago at the time.He had won just one race in 30 starts and wasbeing sold to Macau.“I was there at the time the guy turned upto buy him for sale to Macau,” said Max. “Butwhen he saw the dog was white, he wouldnot buy him. Apparently the Chinese do wantlike white dogs.“Paul was heading to Grafton that weekfor the carnival, and his wife Jeanette didn’treally like Drago. I liked the look of him andthought I could do something with him.”Max certainly did that, putting 3.5kgs ontothe dog and winning two races almostimmediately at Albion Park. He was back. The“bug” had bitten him well and truly.But Max Hay has been a greyhound mansince the early 1970s when he and Joan livedat Annandale in Sydney.“Kevin Grinan was a local butcher and amate of mine,” said Max. “I would go overand help him with his dogs, take them to theraces and handle them when Kevin could notget the time off work.”Kevin had some pretty handy dogsincluding Dark Deceiver a multiple Haroldand Wentworth Park winner, as well asKiapana Prince the “quinella dog of the year”in NSW. “He had 42 starts for the year butnever won a race and still earned the title ofquinella dog of the year,” said Max. “He ranplacings everywhere.”Max and Joan were given a bitch of theirown to learn the art of training. “She was nogood and I didn’t even put her in a race,” saidMax.ABOVEKim'sCollect theAppin TwoThousandwinner.RIGHT:Max andJoan Haywith Dragotheir firstrunner atAlbionPark and awinner.By this time the couple had moved to MtDruitt. Their next door neighbour was JohnGrundeman who had raced an extra smartsprinting bitch called Miss Collect a regularTAB and country winner but restricted by herlack of stamina after 400 metres.“John had bred a litter of Fine Arama-MissCollect pups that were by them seven monthsold,” said Max. “Unfortunately one of themgot out one day and was hit by a car.“John put him in a kennel to recover andafter a little while I asked about the pup. Johnoffered him to me.”Max and Joan had to force feed the dogfor three weeks on crushed chicken to get himto eat.Named Kim’s Collect he won 10 of hisfirst 12 starts all up the straight and gave Maxand Joan a huge thrill when winning the 1981Appin Two Thousand.“I took him to Richmond after that for hisfirst circle run,” said Max. “From box one,he came out of the boxes, stood there andCoominya Lodge280 LARSENS RD, COOMINYAWHELPING - Heated whelping bays with experienced mid-wife on hand. Bitchesfed the best of everything .REARING - Pups reared on our property are pre-educated before breaking in. Plentyof room to run in our 90m puppy yards with shade and warm, snug kennels. Eukanubaalways available for snacking with fresh beef bones providing healthy teeth and gums. Wefollow a comprehensive worming program, pups get hydrobathed regularly and receiveplenty of handling.SPELLING - Tell us what you need! Recovering from injury? We have laser andultrasound equipment and a “hospital” area where they can be kept quiet. Need a breakfrom racing ? We have two huge paddocks they can be let loose in once or twice a day withor without other dogs. They’ll be fed a racing diet if required and will be rugged in winter.Contact CATHY & RON JACKSON Ph 54264276 or 0428929228White dogssuit Max andJoan any daywatched the field race around the track. Henever went again, on a circle or up thestraight.”But that Appin Two Thousand victory hadwell and truly convinced Max and Joan thatgreyhound racing was fir them.“I built a double garage on our Mt Druithouseblock and put six kennels in it and hadthem full for the next decade,” he said.Good dogs started rolling in and Maxquickly built a reputation as a qualitygreyhound trainer.Sharob (named after the Hay kids Sharonand Robert) won 16 races.The Weapon, a desperate for the eight boxand a 400m dog only, won 18 races.Aussie Alien “won when we needed himto”, while Beneficient was an outstandinggalloper.“I paid $6000 for Beneficient at theGrafton carnival and he won first up for us atAppin by 15 lengths. He went on to win atWentworth Park,” said Max.Not long after, Max’s mate Joe Agiusnegotiated to buy a Worth Doing pup for$1500 on Max’s recommendation.“Joe got home and rang me to say he hadnot bought the pup because he didn’t likehim,” said Max. “The pup was then sold tothe Newcastle Jockey Club as a prize in araffle.”Joe decided to buy $100 worth of ticketsin the raffle and won him.Racing as Worth Winning he was anoutstanding galloper for the Hay kennel.“We were told he was no good at all whenhe was broken in, but one day at Cauchi’s trialtrack at Kellyville he went up the straight in16.3secs when 17 would normally pull himup,” said Max.“I put him straight in at Appin the nextweek and he won, then won again and again.“He then went to Bulli over 600 metresand won four straight but broke a toe. RegHoskins took the toe off and he came back towin three more over 600m at Bulli and anotherat Richmond.”By that time Joe had learned to like WorthWinning.Best Method was another top classgalloper prepared by Max.“I’d been watching the dog for a whileand found out he was for sale,” he said. “Ibought him after a trial and he hurt his toe.Reg Hoskins took the toe off him and I sethim for the Penrith Distance Championshipsover 720 metres nine weeks later.”Best Method had a couple of slips to gethim fit, ran fourth in his heat and got into thefinal from the eight box. He led throughoutto beat a field that included Frosty Zulu,Flying Seagull and Noosa Seagull. “We got50-1 and backed him,” said Max.Double Tee ran second to Brave Gamblerin the Richmond Oaks for breeder and ownerTony Vella who often supplied Max with dogsto train.But by 1991, Max and Joan wanted toretire so they headed to the sunshine ofOxenford. “We were looking for a peacefullife but as soon as I got here I gave up smokingand almost immediately came down withathletic asthma, and angina,” he said.“I was always a big smoker but lost halfmy lung capacity. My doctor told me to goback to work.”He helped his son, motor mechanic Robertat the RACQ at first and then when Robertopened his own business.In the meantime he and Joan took little orno notice of racing. “I did go to the Tweedoccasionally, but not often,” he said.But it is strange how the world turns. TheHay’s grandchildren Allana and Dean pickedup lawn bowls. Max plays himself. The kidswere so good they achieved rep status.“And because of this I met up with TrevorWilson again, a mate form Sydney who wastraining a couple of dogs,” said Max. Hestarted heading to a few race meetings whenTrevor had a dog in. That was early this year.The greyhound bug was working on Maxall the time and it wasn’t long after that a fewmates came to him to train the bitch that wouldeventually fall first-up at the Tweed.With the success he has had with, firstlyBell’s Pride and then twice Albion Parkwinner Drago, Max is back rolling ingreyhound racing.“I’m even getting calls from people totrain dogs for them,” he said. The night Dragowon was the first runner Max had had atAlbion Park.“I love training dogs,” he said. “I’m up at4am and walk for an hour and 10 minutesevery day. I try to swim them as well but it’sbeen a bit cold lately for that.”Joan is resigned to the fact her life ofretirement has been interrupted. “I used tohave a garage to put my car in,” she said.“Now I’ve got kennels where the car used togo.”Max wouldn’t have it any other way.The (September, 2007) Journal Page 18