Caption: Jedda Cutlack’s She’s Some Fox wins the Dr John Murray 5th Grade Final at Capalaba on Sunday. (Photo: Just Greyhound Photos)
By Pat McLeod
As young training talent Jedda Cutlack drove home from a successful Capalaba outing on Sunday she felt the re-assurance that only winning days provide.
Cutlack had guided home $19 winner She’s Some Fox in the main race of the day, the Dr John Murray 5th Grade Final, at the 366m straight track.
She also held the lead on short-priced winners, Caramel Queen, ($1.65) in a 4th/5th Grade and Salieri ($1.28) in a 5th Grade.
Although the ‘Dr John’ victory – for a race named in honour of one of Australia’s most respected greyhound vets and a special friend of the Capalaba Club – did bring special joy, Cutlack’s winning feeling and confidence booster comes following loss.
At the end of June she farewelled three dogs who have been a cornerstone of her rise in the training ranks – Showdown, Shaye and Sunburst.
The Sh Avatar – Sawadee littermates, owned and bred by successful industry figures Sonia and Peter Davis, all came under Cutlack’s care in mid-2021.
In the following two years they became the benchmark of her ascension through the training ranks, becoming group quality dogs and earning a combined $548,805 in prizemoney.
She says the fact they have all been retired at the same time was purely coincidence, but has been an emotional ending to a key chapter in her training career.
“When you send three city class dogs home you do get a bit nervous, to not have them in the kennel any more,” she said.
“I will certainly miss them around the kennels, but hopefully not too much.
“They were incredible performers for me. Between them they won more than $500,000 in prizemoney.
“They were so much more than bread-and-butter dogs. They all placed in Group finals.
“Shaye won the (Group 2) Golden Sands. Sunburst did well in a Darwin carnival.
“Showdown was my first Thursday night winner.
“To think about then and now, and it hasn’t been all that long, just about how everything has progressed since they joined the kennel.
“So yes, there were a few tears shed when they did go home.
“They have certainly been a constant theme to my career to date and because they were so good we targeted some big campaigns with them.
“And it wasn’t all seamless.
“Sunburst, for example would have the weirdest injuries just before big races.
“Shaye would come on season a few times and so had a few breaks in her racing.
“So, they didn’t have the perfect race careers, but they did so well for me.
“Coming into the industry and having dogs like that, it was fantastic.
“I feel that they were the beginning of me being associated with some real city class dogs.”
All three dogs had very successful careers:
Sunburst – 90 races for 27 wins, 15 seconds and 12 thirds for $198,000 in prizemoney.
Shaye – 80: 19 – 14 – 9 for $191,045.
Showdown – 100: 24 – 17 – 9 for $159,760.
Cutlack said she, the owners and kennel supremo Tom Tzouvelis, knew the curtain was closing on the trio’s careers and there ‘had been discussions’.
The final performance was a seventh to Sunburst in a heat of the Group 1 Queensland Cup (710m) on June 29.
The following day Cutlack drove the three south to meet Peter Davis ‘midway’ at Kempsey, for him to take them back to his base, south of Sydney.
“I would have been more emotional if I wasn’t so exhausted after racing late Thursday night and then travelling with the dogs Friday morning,” she said.
“I said to Tom that I wanted to drive them back because they have been so special to me.
“We stopped in Coffs Harbour and I took some special photos of them.
“I had a special bond with all of them, but especially Sunburst. The three of them were all super affectionate dogs.
“They just wanted to jump on you for a cuddle and sometimes they were just like big babies at the track.
“They were just really nice dogs and it was difficult to say goodbye.
“But it was fantastic to be able to let them go to retirement on their own terms. It wasn’t because of injury, it was just a case of ‘OK you’ve done very well, now it’s time for the next stage of your life. Well done’.
“It was very sad for me, but very happy for them. I am excited for them.
“I have no doubt Sunburst and Shaye will soon be breeding and so hopefully in the not-too-distant-future we will see their pups racing around.”
So, with three kennel stars gone, winning trebles like Sunday’s Capalaba performance are certainly confidence boosters for Cutlack.
“We have some young dogs in pre-training that you hope will fill those shoes,” she said.
“The ones that have started recently are doing alright.
“You have days like today and that boosts your confidence.
“But that is just a part of training.
“The good dogs don’t last forever. You have to build the reputation of your kennels so you do attract good dogs.”
