Bob May
ON a great night for racing at Gawler on Sunday, a young greyhound bettered his personal best time to take out race three on the program for Lewiston trainer Vadim Roz.
In the 400m juvenile race, Lucky Jay bounced out well from box-seven to take a three length break over Imperial Master (box-four) and Hot Rocks (box-one).
On the back turn, Hot Rocks was slowly narrowing the gap on the leader, and as they swung into the home straight, he swept to the lead to go on and win by nearly four lengths – a result that didn’t seem possible at the turn.
Roz trains the talented greyhound – affectionately known as ‘Rocky’ – for owner Josh Mabarrack, with Mabarrack explaining how he received him from a mating which was arranged with his former racing female, Dream Choice.
Mabarrack said he has a lot of faith in Rocky, and believes he has a “lot more in the tank”, which has led him to resist some interest to purchase the dog.
Reflecting his consistency, Hot Rocks took his record to three wins and eleven placings from 21 starts, with most of the racing being at Gawler.
Mabarrack said he can trace his interest in greyhounds back to his early years, when he used to pick out the numbers of greyhounds in races with his Nanna, while watching racing on TV.
Later, he discovered his friend’s father was a trainer, so he became involved through his mates in a syndicate.
He has been involved with other greyhounds along the way, before about six years ago he found another friend was also interested in greyhounds.
Through that association, the pair became involved in another syndicate, with Vadim Roz as the trainer.
Mabarrack said both he and his partner Tash Strapps adore the greyhound breed, which is the major reason for their involvement.
As for Rocky, when his racing career comes to an end, he will end up with a prime position on their couch.
Racing continues at Gawler during the holiday season on Wednesday afternoon and Sunday evenings.