Caption: Tony Dawson and his mother Bertha with their champion chaser Stylish Doctor, who was Tasmania’s Greyhound of the Year in 2002

Group 3 Devonport Chase (452m)

Best 64 nominated.

Heats November 17. Final November 24.

$25,000 to the winner.

By DAVID BRASCH

COME late November, Launceston dog man Tony Dawson will head over to be part of Devonport Chase final night.

It will bring back both frustrating and joyous memories for the long-time trainer.

These days, Tony has only two dogs in training, Stylish Macbeth and her litter brother Stylish Hugh (Barcia Bale-Flash innings) both of them handy winners.

But the Devonport Chase every year is time for Tony and his mother Bertha to remember the frustrating run of outs in the big race, and finally victory with their great galloper Stylish Doctor.

\”Yes, I\’d tried and tried to win that race without doing so,\” said Tony. \”I\’d had that many seconds, but could never win it.\”

He thought he had a great chance when Stylish Doctor (Stylish Teddy-Kenny\’s Best Pal), a dog he bred himself, made the final in 2001 only to see him find trouble and finish second.

The following year, by then one of the best sprinters in the land, Stylish Doctor was odds-on favourite to win the Cup and Tony reckoned it was going to be a procession when he saw his dog jump straight to the front.

\”But, he got clipped from behind and dropped back to mid-field,\” he said. \”Only to see him fight his way back to win.\”

Stylish Doctor made the Cup final the following year but then a five-year-old he found the task beyond him.

Stylish Doctor is a member of the Tassie Greyhound Hall of Fame. He raced 114 times for 50 wins, 26 seconds and 12 thirds. He raced for 46 months.

Tony had bred and raced Silverdome the winner of 15 races including the Devonport Breeders Classic. She became the dam of Stylish Teddy the winner of 49 races.

\”Kenny\’s Best Pal was by Iron Rail-Nice Future and was from the very first litter ever bred in Australia with the use of frozen semen,\” said Tony.

\”She\’d had a couple of litters that were not much good and I got her to breed a litter. Put her straight to Stylish Teddy and Stylish Doctor was the result.\”

‘The result’ also included a bitch called Stylish Dotty.

\”I gave her to the Devonport Club as a pup to raffle and she was pretty good too.\”

Stylish Dotty is the third dam of recent Tassie superstars Peco Can and Hello Rhonda.

Silverdome is also the fourth dam of Tassie staying champs Chinatown Lad and Fallen Zorro.

Tony says he should have won the 2017 Devonport Cup (now the Chase) with Stylish Nic (Fabregas-Stylish Abbey).

\”He won the heat at 100-1 and I fancied him to win,\” said Tony. \”But he ran third in the final (behind Pantera Nera).

\”He eventually broke down, tore a back muscle.\”

Tony Dawson\’s lone Devonport Chase winner Stylish Doctor was inducted into the hall of fame in 2018 and was Tassie greyhound of the year in 2002.