VICTORIANS Peter and Peta Craig have been breeding thoroughbreds and greyhounds for 30 years with good success.

MUCH was expected of superstar Aston Dee Bee when he retired to stud back in 2018-19, the son of Barcia Bale-Aston Elle having won the Group 1 Melbourne Cup.

JUST like the thoroughbred version, the Cox Plate, the Group 1 Topgun is an invitation event that pits only the very best of the year in a one-off race for huge prizemoney.

THERE is a small bunch of greyhound breeding ‘nerds’ out there who like nothing better than analysing stats on what makes Group winners, city winners etc.

STEPHANIE Tyler and her husband Sam knew greyhound racing well enough a few years ago to listen to the wise heads of her family, Stephanie’s dad Lawrence and uncle Don.

HOW many times have you heard a broodbitch owner with a sprinting bitch reckon he needs to mate her to a ‘strong’ sire in a bid to get 500m performers?

DENNIS and Ann Barnes have been in greyhound racing together for 48 years and in that time have left their mark on the breeding industry to the stage the ‘Fancy’ and ‘Nangar’ lines are almost as well known as ‘Bale’.

HARRY Manolitsis is a Victorian firmly entrenched in greyhound racing despite a much earlier stint in harness racing that saw him race a superstar.

I have at home a treasured and glamorous book all about the famed Aga Khan thoroughbred empire.

JANE Mcnicholl was an early twenties vet student in Dublin when she got her first greyhound.

CASINO veteran Mark Wilkes is as astute a dog man as there is. Mark likes to fly under the radar, but during decades in the greyhound industry he has certainly never been without a quality race dog.

VICTORIAN dog man Geoff Collins is not one to pass up on an opportunity. But even Geoff must be thinking he’s ‘taking a punt’ on a litter of pups he bred a few months ago.

IT is amazing where we find information that pertains to breeding both the racehorse and greyhound.

SOME time ago, Chase Newspaper caught up with former Victorian, now Queensland-based Dave Fitzgerald, whose first ever greyhound was the mercurial Tangairn.

WHEN there’s a million bucks up for grabs, the line-up of finalists for such a race is one that certainly deserves attention, and analysis.

ROBBIE Britton had a theory about the progeny of champion stud dog Bombastic Shiraz that he proved to himself over and over again.

OWNERS are forever looking for an edge when it comes time to mate their broodbitch.

AS a 30kg bitch, Black Opium is a giant among her sex. As a race bitch, she has become a giant as well.

HENRY Plunkett and his son Steve rode a couple of years of success in 2011-12 when their staying star Abby Shiraz proved herself one of the best of her era.

WHEN we look back over the past decade or two and marvel at the times great race dogs have run at Angle Park, those of us who remember him will still be in awe of the immortal Brett Lee’s staggering 28.88.

THESE days, Tony McGrath is settled in a retirement home not far from his former Shepparton property where many a great, great greyhound was bred and reared.

BRADLEY Sabotic is a NSW school teacher who lives for greyhound racing. Based at Greta not far from Cessnock, Bradley has dabbled in breeding for a few years now and is still hoping for a champion to come along.