Caption: A winning combination – Tony Brett, left, and Steve Williams. (Photo: Box 1 Photography) 

By DAVID BRASCH

STEVE Williams is a man of conviction.

He has been since he first started in greyhound racing a couple of decades ago.

And his loyalty to the bloodlines that have given him such considerable success in this tough industry has been behind that greatness.

Steve bred a dog he called Jury, by successful but unheralded stud dog Cosmic Chief, from a bitch called Velocity Sheba whose mother Velocity Zoom was a sister to champion Glen Gallon (37 wins, $619,000), Steve\’s crowning glory.

Jury won 14 races and earned $305,000 from wins in the G1 National Sprint, G1 Winter Cup, both at Albion Park, and the G2 Lismore Gold Cup. He was also a finalist in the Ipswich Gold Cup.

His littermate Velocity Lilly was a finalist in the G1 National Distance.

Steve organised for Jury to stand at stud in South Australia and was determined to help him succeed in his new profession.

\”Yes, I\’ve backed him to the hilt because I know how good a race dog he was, and because I already have evidence he is a very, very good stud dog,\” said Williams.

Of the first 12 matings Jury had at stud, eight were bitches owned by Steve Williams. Seven of them have produced litters.

And Steve\’s faith in Jury was instantly rewarded when he sired Sentenced (Jury-Velocity Spice), the winner of eight of 14 starts and $75,000 before breaking down.

Along the way, Sentenced won the G2 Qld Derby, ran 29.63 at Albion Park and made the final of the G1 Gold Bullion and G3 Golden Ticket.

\”He was a special dog and it is a tragedy he broke down with his entire race career in front of him,\” said Steve. \”And he is from the first mating Jury had.\”

His littermate, Crimes, has won nine and been placed 18 times.

Virtually within minutes, along came Indictment (Jury-Velocity Onyx), also from the Tony Brett kennel, to win at Albion Park in maiden class in a scintillating 29.80.

From just two litters to race, Steve Williams and Jury produced racetrack stars.

\”I\’ve got Sentenced at home as a pet,\” said Steve.

\”I\’ve used him (Jury) more than I did Glen Gallon, and we all know how good a race dog he was,\” he said.

Of Indictment, Williams is raving about his potential.

\”Tony believes he is a very, very nice dog,\” said Steve.

\”He\’s only very young and still learning but he has already shown he can run fast times. It is all in front of him.\”

Litters to come by Jury, bred by Steve, are out of Velocity Amica, Lavinia, Whisper, Mia and Willow.

\”The Jury pups are great chasers, just like him,\” said Steve.

\”He has some wonderful bloodlines to suit so many, many bitches. His sire Cosmic Chief is bred on the same Bret Lee/Bobniak cross as those great sires Where\’s Pedro, Hallucinate and Crash.

\”And Cosmic Chief is from the same Portrait family as Primo Uno and Shima Shine.

\”His mother has the Irish star College Causeway and the US great Flying Stanley who is the sire of Zambora Brockie\’s mother.

\”And she also has Go Wild Teddy and Bombastic Shiraz in her pedigree.

\”There are so many options for breeders to use Jury. He has now shown he can sire a youngster of the absolute highest order.

\”I\’ve backed him to the hilt.\”