By TERRY WILSON
BY the time you read this the Queen of Capalaba, supermum Jeannie Dreaming, should be confirmed as being in pup to emerging top sire Zambora Brockie.
And as trainer Claude Dacey insists, there will not be a comeback to her pet venue for the champion black bitch – she has run her final race which, annoyingly for the Daceys, resulted in an inglorious last-place finish in a Best 8 race.
It was a completely uncharacteristic performance from Jeannie Dreaming, but one that convinced the Daceys that her time was up and she could go back to becoming a mother again.
Her finale was, in many ways, a bookend of her first performance, in a trial at Casino, when she pulled up and failed to finish.
Her last run at Capalaba was on July 5 and Claude Dacey suspected something was wrong with her.
“I had a feeling she was a bit off and she missed the kick,” said the veteran Dacey.
“And that’s what beat her because she was usually such a brilliant beginner.”
Not many greyhound bitches have given birth to a litter of 12 then made a racing comeback four months later.
And not too many greyhounds have a better record than Jeannie Dreaming at the famous bayside Brisbane straight track.
She heads off into her second motherhood with a remarkable record of 44 starts there for 24 wins, eight seconds and seven thirds there.
She also had eight starts at Albion Park for three wins, but an incident there put her off sync and her last 38 starts were all at Capalaba.
Her litter of 12 by Fernando Bale, were born on March 1 last year. Four months later she was back in racing again after convincing the Daceys she simply wanted to race.
Overall Jeannie Dreaming won $33,240 – not too bad a return given the prizemoney levels at Capalaba were not all that high.
“She has been a very, very good bitch for us – and it’s going to be better when her pups start soon,” said Dacey.
The Daceys have been kept busy at their Stapylton (near Brisbane) acreage as Jeannie Dreaming’s mother has had a litter of six from a repeat mating with Paw Licking.
And Jeannie Dreaming’s litter sisters Love The Look has a litter of month-old pups by Fernando Bale and Nikki Nettle is in pup to Black Lee, a son of Brett Lee.
(Photo: Just Greyhound Photos)