Caption: Tom Weldon with promising youngster Aussie Sands … his first winner as an owner-trainer in more than 30 years. (Photo: Just Greyhound Photos)
Each month Chase Newspaper puts the spotlight on an industry trainer and their tips and advice. This month it is Tom Weldon, from Ipswich, south-east Queensland.
by MIKE HILL
TOM Weldon is enjoying his second stint with the lead and collar, but said his biggest challenge this time was getting his head around ‘the computerisation of the sport’.
The Raceview-based (Ipswich suburb) trainer only returned to the sport in February after stepping away more than 30 years ago.
And already he’s having success with his young sprinter Aussie Sands.
“A lot has changed since the ’90s,” admitted Weldon, who we feature in this month’s The Trainer column.
“I’m not computer literate and doing everything online has been very difficult.
“It’s been a big challenge, but the ladies in the office at Ipswich and Albion Park have been tremendous.
“They have helped me enormously. Without them it would have been too difficult.”
He also said the massive boost to prizemoney was another major change within the industry.
“It’s fantastic,” Weldon said.
“Prizemoney goes all the way down to eighth placing and there is the added bonus of appearance money.”
He said he left the sport in 1993 to concentrate on his young family, although he ‘stayed in touch’ over the years, teaming up with Wayne Dunsmore to breed several litters, which were reared and trained by leading conditioner Tom Tzouvelis.
Then in October last year, Weldon took himself off to the Ipswich puppy auction ‘just to have a look’.
“I didn’t even get a bidding card,” he said.
But during the sale he was taken by a fawn Aussie Infrared-Rhyno’s Kiss male pup.
“He came out … he was a really nice dog,” Weldon said.
“A strikingly good-looking fawn, but no-one bid on him.
“I liked the dog and later made an offer with breeder Robert Higgs and I agreeing on a price.”
That pup is now racing as Aussie Sands and last month the fawn sprinter gave Weldon his biggest thrill since returning to training by impressively winning a $6200 Ipswich Maiden Series Final (520m) at just his third race start.
The youngster had put the writing on the wall the previous week with a slashing heat victory.
“I was very confident going into the final,” said Weldon.
“He ran the fastest heat last week and he only had to jump well to be in it again.
“He did that and he used the rails to his advantage, especially going around the first turn.
“I was very pleased with the run.”
And with the two wins, Aussie Sands has well and truly paid for himself.
Weldon obviously has a high opinion of the young chaser.
“He has good box manners and is very strong at the finish of his races,” he said.
“He’s a real thinking sort of dog. He has good track smarts.
“A couple of trainers have already commented to me that he ‘uses his head in his races’.
“He’d only had two trials on the track as well as his heat win before the final but he went around the corners hugging the fence like a seasoned sprinter.
“The first corner at Ipswich is tight, but he stayed glued to the rails and his run home is very strong.
“I think he will develop into a nice staying type as he matures.”
Aussie Sands ($3.20) ran down the $8.50 pacemaker Ricolina Jam (Marion Goodwin) in the straight, racing away to a three-length victory in the $4030-to-the-winner final with Matthew Heilbronn’s Couch Commentary ($5.50) another length-and-a-half away third.
Weldon said after the sprinter’s heat win seven nights earlier: “That was my first win as an owner-trainer since 1993.”
He said he first picked up the lead and collar in 1976 when based at Park Ridge but stepped away from the code in the ’90s after his family ‘started to grow’.
“The kids came along,” Weldon said.
So, he concentrated on his truck driving and raising his family.
During his first stint in the sport, Weldon said he owned a couple of smart chasers, none better than Capalaba specialist Tops For Me.
“A member of the second litter I bred (Benjamin John-Lady Kenara), Tops For Me was runner-up in a Capalaba Greyhound Of The Year award in the early 80s,” he said.
“Nothing could beat her at the start, particularly at Capalaba.
“She had real early speed.
“Tops For Me and Ice Sind were the best two greyhounds I owned, while Gold Edition, from a Tops For Me litter, was the best sprinter I’ve trained.
“She won a St Valentine’s Day Trophy at Ipswich first-up after a three-month seasonal break in 1991,” he said.
1: How and when did you get involved in greyhound racing?
A: I bought a couple of greyhounds – a dog and a bitch – from Frank Young at Goodna in 1975.
2: Who has been the greatest influence on you as a trainer?
A: That’s a hard one. I just picked up as much information as I could from other trainers.
3: At what age do you start preparing a pup for racing?
A: At about 16 months old
4: How long does it take to prepare a pup for its first race?
A: It usually takes about three months to get a pup ready for its first race.
5: What makes a good pup?
A: The breeding… it’s all in the breeding.
6: Do you do anything special when preparing a young dog for its maiden compared to a seasoned performer?
A: No.
7: Do you have a set routine for all your greyhounds or do you vary training for individual runners?
A: I vary the training for each runner.
8: Do you have any unique or unusual methods you would like to share in regard to training?
A: No.
9: Do you swim your dogs as part of your training regime?
A: No, not yet, but I could later.
10: How frequently do you like to race your dogs?
A: Once a week.
11: What’s your training routine for dogs between races?
A: Using a walking machine and hand slipping.
12: Do you do all muscle work on your dogs and treat all injuries?
A: I do some and then get the dogs checked if I have any worries.
13: Which is the best greyhound you have trained?
A: Gold Edition.
14: What do you consider is the best greyhound track in Australia and why?
A: With its one turn and varying distances, the Parklands track at the Gold Coast was the best.
15: What does the industry need most going forward?
A: Places for re-homing dogs.
16: What is the best advice you could give someone just starting out as a trainer?
A: Talk to the leading trainers, listen to what they say and take your time.