By TERRY WILSON

VETERAN trainer Steve Kavanagh will be doing all he can to be in Dubbo for the inaugural Ladbrokes Brother Fox classic this month.
In what is a fitting tribute to one of Dubbo’s greatest performers, the former Dubbo Gold Cup (516m) has been renamed to honour arguably one of Australia’s best ever race and stud dogs.
Kavanagh and Brother Fox emerged from the central western New South Wales city to form one of the greatest partnerships in national greyhounds.
To add further gloss to the Dubbo carnival is the fact that the Brother Fox classic is offering $40,000 to winning connections, up $15,000 from previous stagings.
Kavanagh is now based at Pottsville on the Tweed Coast of New South Wales and he said he will make every effort to be in Dubbo for the second big occasion that Brother Fox will be lauded.
Kavanagh said the event naming was a huge honour.
“They had a civic mayoral reception a few years ago after he retired,” said Kavanagh.
“I’ve been supporting the Dubbo Cup for years and hopefully I can get there again, but it depends on what is going on here.”
Heats of the Brother Fox are set for Saturday May 22 and the final six days later on Friday, May28.
A Hall of Famer, Brother Fox was owned and prepared in Dubbo by Kavanagh in the 1980s.
He won multiple Group race events, including the state’s two longest running events, the Peter Mosman and Vic Peters Classics, and he continues to influence the breeding scene today having a successful stud career in the late 80s.
Dubbo club president Shayne Stiff said the decision to launch the Ladbrokes Brother Fox was an easy one.
“Brother Fox was a champion, drew thousands to the track including an exhibition race in 1985 where they were 10 deep along the fence at Dawson Park to see him,” he said.
“To align our feature event and carnival with Brother Fox is a no-brainer. He epitomises the best of the best and inspires local greatness.”
In addition Dubbo will also run the Bill and Peg Miller Cup (for hounds with 0-2 wins), a 516m event with $10,000 up for the winner.
As well, the Ladbrokes Red Dog (605m) is on final night which will be city class.
No doubt it will be a huge week or so in the country city with the greyhounds, plus  the clash of NRL big guns Penrith and South Sydney at Apex Park on Sunday, May 23.