Caption: Trainer Robin Grubb with his classic winner Rojo Diamond, and granddaughter Sophia.
By BRENNAN RYAN
TRAINER Robin Grubb suspected his Rojo Diamond had some heavenly help in winning the Tasmanian Breeders Classic Final at Devonport on December 21.
Robin and his late father Robert shared a passion for greyhound racing and had great success.
When Rojo Diamond upstaged the fancied runners Wynburn Ruby and Just Posh in the Tasmanian Breeders Classic Final, Robin was convinced his father was looking on to see their home-bred chaser take out the series over a three-week event.
“Dad (Robert) had a belief in having certain even numbers on things,” Robin said.
“When I kennelled Rojo Diamond on the day at Devonport I was handed a kennel ticket with the number 44. I had a slight chuckle to myself thinking Dad’s prediction was here with us.
“Rojo Diamond has been a nice dog that continues to improve without laying any great expectations.
“The Breeders Classic Series at Devonport had really been his chance to show how matured he was. We’re hoping the next 12 months could see him be a nice U-turn dog.”
While Robert prepared his last winner as a trainer with Hi Dixie in 2017, he kept a strong interest as an owner/breeder right up until his passing.
Robin continued rearing and whelping the pups on their Opossum Rd-based property direct from their own line.
The Grubb family have been blessed with a strong contingency of graded and feature winners through the years, all stemming back to their foundation broodbitch Stylish Dotty.
Rojo Diamond is a fourth-generation chaser from the “Stylish” line by Fabregas out of former Devonport track record holder Sing The Song, who at the time of writing had recorded six wins and three minor placings from 14 starts with prizemoney of $22,025.
“When Dad retired from the family panel beating shop, he focused all his attention on greyhounds and after I got interested, we had a good run together,” Robin said.
“There had been some good chasers come from the line, most recently Hello Rhonda and Peco Can.”
The Gold Nugget syndicate heads ownership of Rojo Diamond and other chasers trained by Robin and his son in-law Josh Wright whose abbreviated names combined produce the “Rojo” prefix.
Robin’s mother Beverly and other family members are involved in the syndicate.
“It was a pretty special feeling to win the race,” Robin said/
“Timing and preparation had been a major key behind Rojo Diamond’s improvement and he looks to becoming a handy performer.
“We’ll sit down as a family and work out a path of target some feature races.”
At the Tasmanian Breeders Classic Final presentation Robin was quietly emotional having his family there. When accepting the trophy Robin said “This one’s for Dad”.
Bob would have been smiling!
Past Devonport Breeders Classic winners: Black Sienna 2014, Droopy’s Jacket 2015, Fames The Aim 2016, Hetti’s Produce 2017, Buckle Up Axon 2018, Twisted Sister 2018, Wynburn Lethal 2019, Recall 2020, Roy’s Rocket 2020, Rojo Diamond 2021.
