By Mike Hill

\”IT was good to have the last laugh.\”

That\’s how Glass House Mountain-based trainer Robert Ayres summed up Boscono\’s giant-killer victory in the $5000-to-the-winner Ladbrokes Red Dog Series (565m) at Maitland last month.

Starting a $16 chance, Boscono defeated the $2.20 equal favourites – boom sprinter Good Juan, the dog that  caused a social media meltdown with his unbelievable last-to-first run at Wentworth Park in late June, and the richly talented chaser Highly Effective and in the process clocked a smart 31.73s.

Ayres said the locals didn\’t give his sprinter – having its first look at the Maitland track – much chance.

\”We had snuck in to get a run and being a Queensland country dog they thought we weren\’t a threat,\” he said.

\”It was a good field and it turned out to be a fantastic result. My wife and I had $100 each-way at $23. It was a wonderful trip and we got the last laugh.\”

The victory came just 14 days after the Ayres-trained sprinter had staged her own magical run to win the $7875 TAB Grand Prix (550m) at Bundaberg.

The My Bro Fabio-Beauty Bale bitch is a greyhound blessed with great track sense, something she displayed in both her Bundaberg and Maitland victories.

In the Bundy GP final, Boscono missed the start and was then caught up in a multi-dog jam and shunted back to second last place at the post the first time.

The narrow $3.50 favourite began her charge down the back straight and joined the leaders on the home turn before powering home to victory.

The black sprinter beat the Brent Kline-trained Ricolina Girl ($5.50) by two lengths with Peter O\’Reilly\’s Flying Jet ($3.60) three-quarters of a length away third.

\”She showed a lot of track sense at Bundaberg with her in-and-out runs and at Maitland, although she was slow out, she sat on the rails and snuck through on the corner,\” her proud trainer said.

\”She\’s a strong dog and her only fault is she can be slow out.\”

The trainer-breeder indicated his confidence was high going into the Bundy GP final after Boscono had put the writing on the wall with a fast 31.48s heat win.

She\’s been a great little money spinner for Ayres since arriving from Victoria 12 months ago with just one win to her credit.

Boscono\’s Maitland success pushed her record to 15 wins and 14 placings from 40 starts with $50,750 in prizemoney.

Ayres, who only has three dogs in work – he\’d love to get a fourth – moved to the Brisbane bayside suburb of Manly from Melbourne in the early 90s after tasting success at Sandown Park with Ginnie Bint as a 21-year-old trainer in the 70s.

\”I had to give training away for 20 years because I was a shift worker,\” he said.

He loves the breeding side of the sport and returned to the industry in 2000 purchasing the bitch Anniston from his mate and well-known Victorian breeder Kevin Burns.

Anniston had six litters and her mating with Knockabout Wok produced Group winner and outstanding sire Knocka Norris and the wonderful producer Elite Oriental.

Burns was again responsible for Ayres connecting with Boscono.

\”I\’m lucky I have good people around me,\” he said.

And he plans to breed from Boscono once her racing days are over.

Ayres also believes that COVID-19 restrictions, as difficult as they have been, have helped to bring many trainers closer together in recent months.

“Out of setback good comes,” he said.

(Photo: Uncle Rusty\’s Photos)