Caption: Handler Jedda Cutlack with the Tom Tzouvelis-trained Simply Express in front of a packed Wayne Harris family cheer squad after the recent Wayne Harris Appreciation Final at Capalaba. 

STRAIGHT OF ORIGIN HONOUR BOARD

2023: Shall Not (Darren Sultana) 1940.

2022: Mr America (Darren Sultana) 19.51

2021: Oliver Keeping (Selena Zammit) 19.71

2000: Not held.

2019: Precious Sal (Darren Russell) 19.55

2014: Coco Benz (Geoff Uhrhane) 19.82

Capalaba wrap with Terry Wilson

THE significant presence of leading Queensland trainer Tom Tzouvelis shapes as a major hurdle to what would be a hugely emotional moment in the Straight Of Origin coming up at Capalaba this month.

In this unique event, four runners from Queensland take on as many from New South Wales up the 366m straight track in a dash for the $40,000 winner’s purse.

With Capalaba specialist Valhalla (21 wins and four seconds from 26 starts there) being prepared for another Origin appearance, the gauntlet has been thrown down to NSW superstar and defending race winner Shall Not, trained again by Darren Sultana.

All going well for both headline-makers, it shapes as another terrific battle for interstate superiority with the overall record standing at 3-2 to Queensland but with the Blues having won the past two through Sultana.

Of course there could be a bolter or two make it through to the select field after invitations are sorted out but, at their best, Valhalla and Shall Not would be the standouts.

“Hopefully, if nothing goes wrong between now and then, we’ll be there with bells on,” declared Parramatta Eels fan Sultana.

Which would set the emotions running as he and his dog can fight out this year’s SOO to honour owner Terry Hill, who died suddenly from a heart attack in the Philippines earlier this year.

Asked about Hill’s absolute love of greyhounds, Sultana said the former Manly star was absolutely hooked.

“He was just passionate, they were his passion and he never really talked about football,” said Sultana.

At the time of Chase going to print, Shall Not had won 30 times (with a second and a third) from 32 runs over 324m at Richmond.

At Capalaba Shall Not has two wins (best time 19.40s) and a fifth, which was in a heat of the Capalaba Cup last year.

Valhalla has had a best time of a near-record 19.25 seconds and has been in scorching form at his home track for Tzouvelis.

“I hope he’ll be in it up to his ears,” said the local trainer of his dog which has  won $248,000 in stakes so far.

It is worth noting that Valhalla and Shall Not have met twice and the NSW runner has the advantage.

Shall Not was fourth and Valhalla fifth in the National Straight Track Championship at Healesville behind Unleash Collinda in August last year.

And Shall Not won, with Valhalla fifth, in last year’s Straight Of Origin at Capalaba.

PAWNOTE: Shall Not’s ownership has been transferred to the former Blues partner in greyhounds George Kairouz.

Tzouvelis takes out another feature

WINNING feature events on the straight at Capalaba is becoming almost second nature for leading Park Ridge trainer Tom Tzouvelis.

Tzouvelis increased the number of feature race wins at Capalaba when Simply Express (Flying Ricciardo-Look Fancy Nancy) landed the Wayne Harris Appreciation final, a race staged to honour popular one of the club’s hardest-working stalwarts.

And the Harris success was backed up when the second of the Tzouvelis runners, Rio Will Rock, was only a neck away in second place.

After scoring in one of six heats the previous weekend, when the dog clocked 20.15 seconds, Simply Express jumped from box four and recorded a promising 19.81s in the Fifth Grade event.

And it was Simply Expresses’s fifth success up the straight as the Tzouvelis parade continues.

On the same afternoon Tzouvelis also won with Scripted in a Fifth Grade (in 20.22s) and Serrai in a 4th/5th Grade (20.11s). He also ran second with Gone Walkabout and Jupiter.

In recent years Tzouvelis has won a lot of feature races at Capalaba.

They are the TAB Anniversary Cup (with Valhalla in 2023); Jeffrey Jones Celebration of Life (with Valhalla this year); Capalaba Cup (with Valhalla in 2023); Wayne Harris Appreciation (with Simply Express in  2024); Capalaba Young Guns (with Saanvi in 2024and Valhalla in 2023); Tommy Hoyland Memorial (with Saanvi in 2023); Michael Miller Memorial (with Edelman in 2019); Grand Prix (with Valhalla in 2023); and the Capalaba Futurity (with Viability in 2006).

Darcey kennel is flying

AT a time when Gilberton couple Claude and Norma Dacey were more interested in how they were going to slip into retirement, things have changed significantly.

Just a few days away from his 90th birthday – and wife Norma’s 88th – their dogs have suddenly become hot.

And it all has to do with their ‘Daysea’s’ greyhounds that have hit the tracks, in particular a litter of seven by Sennachie from Nikki Nettle.

The Daceys also look after Daysea’s Rowdy, which just happens to be from the same litter as the mighty Jay Is Jay (Sennachie-Kealoah).

Rowdy was part of a bookends double (races one and 12) at Albion Park last month as the Dacey successes continued at Albion Park and Capalaba.

“These dogs I’m winning with are not champions, so I started them early because I thought there’s not too much time left (for me) but they’ll keep improving,” explained Dacey of the Sennachie-Nikki Nettle crop.

“I’ve got 11 dogs in work at the moment but I’m cutting right back.

“My son (Robbie) moved in with us about 12 months ago and he’s starting to learn because he didn’t know too much about dogs.

“But I know I’ll die with at least one dog and I keep on telling people there’s a lot of money to be made in greyhounds.”

Claude first started preparing greyhounds around 1986 and his first decent chaser was Double Dee Rob.

“I went out to help my old man when I lived at Coorparoo, now it’s more than 40 years involved.

“Double Dee Rob was good enough to run second in the Derby in Sydney when Worth Doing just got him on the line.”

If anybody is wondering about the ‘Daysea’s’ names there is a simple explanation. It is simply a phonetic variation of Dacey.

When Chase went to print, Dacey was elbowing in among the leaders of the Capalaba trainers premiership, which was headed by Grafton-based Evelyn Harris, just ahead of Greg  Stella.

The prolific-winning Tom Tzouvelis was also featuring strongly.