Caption: Brad and Jackie Belford (right) with Central Queensland Futurity winner Pretty Cindy.
Queensland Regional Wrap With MIKE HILL
LEADING Townsville trainer Brad Belford is seriously considering a possible relocation to south-east Queensland.
Belford, who has a commanding lead in his club’s trainers premiership, was sitting in eighth place on the national list last month with a total of 182 winners for the season.
He’s only recently returned from a successful trip to Brisbane.
Belford said he was heading south again in early December to attend well-known Churchable owner-breeder Dan Henry’s 50th birthday bash.
At the same time he and wife Jackie will inspect a property with a view of moving to the Brisbane-Ipswich region.
He didn’t say it but the development of The Q, the multi-million dollar three-track complex being constructed at Purga, looms as a possible magnet to pull him south.
Belford spent his early years in the Brisbane region.
He took 12 chasers south in late October, completing a Futurity double (Townsville-Rockhampton) with talented sprinter Pretty Cindy, as well as picking up several Albion Park victories, including a Thursday night success.
As he headed home last month from his 16-day southern sojourn, his kennel landed a double treble in the same week – three winners and a trifecta at Townsville and a winning trio at Rockhampton the following night.
Then three days later he rugged up a winning five at a Saturday morning Townsville meeting.
Belford was full of praise for his kennel caretaker Wayne Poole, who kept things running at the Gumlow complex (Townsville) while he and Jackie visited Brisbane.
The trainer had earlier in the season set a target of 200 winners for the year after leading in 188 in 2022.
He said reaching that target didn’t look possible a month or so back, but 25 winners in 19 days last month had given him new hope of breaking the double-ton milestone.
“First off we want to beat last year’s record of 188 wins and we’ll see what happens after that,” Belford said.
“I don’t think 200 winners in a season is beyond us.
“I have high hopes of multiple winners at coming Townsville meetings.”
Belford said he would also bring some smart youngsters from Henry’s latest crop back to Townsville following the birthday celebrations.
“I’m reliably told these pups have broken in better than any of the other Henry pups I have had previously,” the trainer said.
He is also upbeat as he returns home with smart sprinter Here Wolfe (32: 9-5-9; $50,340) – a litter brother to Million Dollar Chase victor Jay Is Jay.
Belford said he had purchased the talented chaser from good mate and leading owner-trainer-breeder Tom Tzouvelis.
Meanwhile, Ken Boody has a stranglehold on the Rocky trainers premiership with 93 wins, while David Plummer is in control at Bundaberg.
‘Mark’ takes record to 12 straight wins
SENSATIONAL sprint star Mark Sure Can pushed his consecutive winning streak over 407m at Rockhampton to 12 with a scintillating burst of speed last month.
The blue son of Slick and Sure You Can came within half a length of Wayne Webcke’s long-standing 23.04s track record with a stunning 23.07s run.
Wayne Webcke set the low mark back in February 2015.
Central Queensland trainer Christine Pollard took over Mark Sure Can’s preparation in mid-July after the Jason Phillips-owned sprinter had launched his career with leading SEQ conditioner Sandra Hunt.
“He was well-educated when he arrived,” Pollard said.
“The connections wanted him to get a bit more experience in easier company.”
Pollard, who is based at Emerald, 271kms west of Rockhampton, has had a big opinion of the blue sprinter since day one.
“He’s a serious chaser,” she said early in the preparation.
“He’s not fashionably bred but he has his head on right.
“He’s a committed chaser and has early speed.”
After last month’s 12-on-the-trot victory, acting club president and long-time trainer Nev Jackson said Mark Sure Can was one of the fastest dogs he’d seen in more than 50 years in the sport.
“And he’s probably the fastest dog I’ve seen out of the boxes.
“He wins his races at box rise. He’s a brilliant box dog … he’s a machine.”
Jackson said the dog’s run of 12 wins straight was a club record and it had been for several weeks.
“We we will be honouring the achievement down the track,” he said.
Over the years dogs that have gone on winning runs at Rockhampton include Zip Stream (9 straight in 2022; 12 wins in 14 starts), Custom Idea (eight in a row in 2012; and 10 and a second from 11 starts), Twelve Plus Two (7 straight; 2016); Cosmic Waters (6), Harry Bailey (5 in a row; 14 wins in 17 starts), Ring Me (5) and Little Ach Cee (5).
But Mark Sure Can has a way to go to catch Swimming Goat, the Allan Lang-owned (Northern Rivers of NSW) sprinter (89: 57-15-6; $135,037).
In fact, the El Grand Senor-Kingsbrae Molly chaser won 41 races from 44 starts, including an Australasian record of 22 straight wins in New Zealand between May and October 2016.
However, that still falls short of Irish greyhound Ballyregan Bob, who won 32 consecutive races in the 1980s and American Pat C Rendevous, the winner of 36 on the trot in the 1990s.
Rocky racecaller Liam Mulry was also glowing in his comments of Mark Sure Can when describing the dog’s ability on the track.
“That’s the second quickest time ever clocked at the track,” Mulry said.
“We haven’t had a dog run a time like that in many years.
“He was only half-a-length outside the track record.”
Mark Sure Can won his first race for Pollard over the Rocky 407m trip on August 9, clocking 23.73s, and has gradually brought his time down since.
At the end of August he was running 23.53s, in September it had dropped to 23.33s, then 23.27s in early November before his super 23.07s effort.
Pollard said Mark Sure Can was improving all the time.
“He only ran 24.08s in his first trial for us and he wasn’t very strong coming home,” she said.
“But since then his improvement has been amazing.
“He just keeps on improving … it’s exciting times.
“The 407m trip is suiting him perfectly, no matter what box he draws.”
The talented sprinter has won from every box except the outside during his current winning run.
“As a sprinter, he’s the best I’ve trained,” Pollard said.
She said she would look at stepping Mark Sure Can up to the 510m for the Christmas Cup at the end of the year.
“I’ll trial him first over the distance and go from there,” the trainer said.
“I won’t take him out of his comfort zone if he can’t handle it.
“But if he can, we’ll probably also look at the Country Cup in January.”
Meanwhile, Jackson paid tribute to Pollard’s handling of the dog.
“They had to travel three-plus hours from Emerald for the meeting and it was a very hot day (40C),” he said.
“The dog was presented in great condition and to run that time … hat’s off to the trainer.”
PAWNOTE: If anyone knows of a greyhound that had a longer winning run at Rockhampton over the years please email details to: info@chasenews.com.au
Essery, Scott quick to lead in winners
LEADING Queensland provincial-based conditioners Rhonda Essery and Steve Scott are making their presence felt after stints on the sideline.
Essery returned to the Townsville training ranks in early October with a couple of winners and a double before leading in a winning quartet, including a quinella, at a Saturday morning meeting early last month.
She shared the honours with Tony Parker, who also rugged up a winning four.
Essery was successful with Call Me Alice ($9.50), Devil’s Waltz ($2,80 equal favourite), Moustache Mick ($3.90) and Purple Car ($4.60).
She then followed it up with a Friday treble and a Tuesday double.
Scott, who had been based at Churchable in south-east Queensland, has returned to CQ, training out of Sarina, just south of Mackay, and will focus on Rockhampton meetings.
After stepping away from the sport in 2020, he returned to the track late in October with instant success.
He landed a winning double at his first meeting back and then picked up a winning treble before adding another trio of winners a week later.
Scott, commenting on his first day back, said: “It was a good feeling.”
“The feeling I got when that (the first) dog won, it lit something again inside me.”
Boody, Belford pick up major wins
GOOD mates Ken Boody and Brad Belford shared the spoils at Rockhampton’s Derby-Futurity night early last month.
Boody landed the $7700 CQ Derby (510m) with kennel representatives Sir Banjo ($2.70) and $2.60 favourite Who’s Billy running one-two, while the Clint Thompson-prepared City Way ($3.20) finished third.
Belford picked up his second Futurity success with Pretty Cindy, who had won the Townsville edition a month earlier.
Pretty Cindy, a $3.30 chance, beat the Boody-prepared Cindie’s Hope ($10) with Darren Taylor’s Phantom Star ($3.90) third.
Ardle lands QGOLD glory again
LIGHTNIING has struck twice for North Queensland trainer Heath Ardle after he collected his second QGOLD success in late October.
And just like earlier in the year, Ardle won the 380m feature with one of his unfancied runners, Mali’s Red Hot ($14), with his second kennel rep Bilinga Beach ($23) finishing fourth.
It was the exact same positions Mali’s Gonzales ($21) and Mali’s Whitey ($101) finished in the 498m edition of the $10,010 to the winner final in February.
“I love it,” was Ardle’s enthusiastic appraisal of the QGOLD concept for Queensland-bred greyhounds.
“It certainly promotes breeding and has been a real positive.”
Bundaberg’s back racing
RACING returned to Bundaberg late last month after on-course activity was halted for ‘track remediation work’ to sections of the grass surface.
Racing Queensland and Queensland Racing Integrity Commission representatives had inspected the track in late September and identified several sections of the track that needed upgrading.
It had been hoped that work would only take a few weeks, but certain sections of the new grassed area took longer to blend into the existing surface.
Club president Steve Bland said racing on the new surface was absolutely brilliant and although 60mls of rain fell during the day the track stood up very well.
Torbanlea-based trainer Ron Brook was quickly into stride with a winning hat-trick on the club’s first day back, while David Plummer increased his lead in the club’s trainers premiership, rugging up a double.
Brook’s winners were the well-fancied trio Tikarni ($1.80) in the 460m Novice and 460m fifth graders, litter sisters Heidi Hook ($1.40 fav) and Josie Hook ($1.50).
Meanwhile, Bland said the club was preparing for its Christmas-New Year program, highlighted by the $7700 Christmas Cup (460m).
All-Townsville North Qld Cup
AS Chase was going to print a smart all-Townsville field was contesting the $24,000 North Queensland Cup.
The finalists (not in box order): Plum Tuckered, Stripey Two, Balts Orson, Bag The Cash, Three Tries, Young Rob, Currie Young Boy, Spitfire Rhodes. Reserves: Pretty Cindy, Who’s Billy.
