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Sambuco beats all the odds and finds a home for life Courtesy David Brash - GRAQ Journal

IT'S lucky Jan and Vic Sawyer have spent almost a lifetime in the production of supplements for animals. Because a couple of years ago, a then four months old Just The Best-Impatient Fool pup they owned was given just a 25 percent chance of ever making it to the racetrack. Jan and Vic had bred the litter but were concerned with the black dog pup's habits. "He would lay down all the time and we were concerned about this," Jan told The Journal. So they headed off to nearby vet John Murray to have tests done on the pup. "John told us he had such a calcium deficiency he had just 25 percent chance of making it to the racetrack," said Jan. One of the products the Sawyers manufacture for sale to the pet industry is a calcium supplement. "We pumped calcium into that pup, and into all the litter," she said. "After a period of time we saw improvement in him. Eventually we would kick soccer balls around the pups yard to encourage him to run." It worked. While that black pup, now racing as Sambuco, has had a delayed career to say the least, he's finally getting the chance to show his natural ability. Three straight victories at Capalaba recently ended with him beating his top class litter brother Eiswein in a 5th Grade series final. Eiswein, trained by Dale Widderick like Sambuco, was a narrow second in last year's Ipswich Auction final to Rylee's Revenge. Therein was also a fightback, but this time for Jan herself. "We had never had a dog in a final like that," said Jan. "It was a huge thrill for us and came two days after I'd had a pacemaker put in. My heart stopped twice." The Sawyers have been in greyhound racing since the opening of the Cairns track 30 years ago. They have been in Brisbane for almost three decades now and ran the Kingston Pet Barn for many years and have lived at Carbrook for 20 years. "We've got three pensioners at home, including a litter sister to Sambuco and Eiswein who we intend to breed with hen she comes on season, probably to Go Wild Teddy," said Jan. Sambuco is already destined to return home as a house pet at the Sawyer home, while Dale wants Eiswein as his house pet.

In the Pink Courtesy David Brash - GRAQ Journal

JIM Gallaway has always been as astute a breeder of greyhounds as anyone. It was he who insisted on the mating of Amerigo Man-Tenthill Flyer which would include Hall of Famer Flying Amy. So when it came to breeding with Joan's Embrace, a daughter of Awesome Assassin and from the famed I'm Blessed damline, he looked around for a match "made in heaven". "I wanted to get a Rasmussen Factor in the pedigree of the pups," said Jim. The Rasmussen Factor is a theory first found by Leon Rasmussen an American who wrote a weekly thoroughbred breeding column for the Daily Racing Form. He found that thoroughbreds who carried in-breeding within the first five generations to a famous broodmare through different progeny could outperform their immediate pedigree. Jim and partner Julie King went looking through stud dogs for an ideal mate for Joan's Embrace. The bitch had been a pretty smart galloper herself winning six races and running 13 placings, often chasing home top class galloper Happy Chappy around the Gold Coast. She had won on the old Gold Coast track's grass surface in a flying 25.48, ideal broodbitch potential. She struggled to run 520m and was placed just once at Albion Parkin five starts. "I stumbled across Robust Character," said Jim. "The more I looked at him, the more I liked him. He had won in sub 30 seconds on city tracks in three states. "How many dogs do that?" And Robust Character could stretch his speed to 600m to win a Canberra Cup. The fact a mating between Robust Character and Joan's Embrace would introduce a Rasmussen Factor close up in the resultant pups' pedigree was the bonus. In fact, Robust Character is out of Tranquil Scene, a full sister to Awesome Assassin, sire of Joan's Embrace.The resultant litter includes Pink Character, winner on debut of the timehonoured Grafton Maiden, and recently a Young Guns victor up the straight at Capalaba where he has been an outstanding galloper. The Young Guns was the fifth final Pink Character has contested. In four of them he has been fastest heat winner and drawn box five in the final. Gallaway and King were starting to wonder if he would overcome that hoodoo. The Young Guns victory was the last for Gallaway and King as Queenslanders. They have bought a 12-acre property at Ellengowan in northern NSW. Unfortunately Joan's Embrace was killed in an accident at the Gallaway property some time ago.

CAPALABA CLUB NEWS - APRIL 2007

The club is currently negotiating with the Redlands Shire Council for a new lease. Before this could be finalised we were required to have the property surveyed. This resulted in the need to have our fence line readjusted at one end of the complex. The cost of the surveying was $2500. The security enclosure for the new boxes has been completed. It is hoped this will deter future vandalism at the boxes. The cost of the security was $4000 and was shared with the GRA. The Derby and Futurity are our next big races. The Futurity will be sponsored by Black Enforcer. The final winner will receive $2500 plus a free service to Black Enforcer. The club would like to thank the connections for their generosity. The Derby is worth $2500 to the winner and there is a trophy of a DVD video combo. The club has made application to the GRA to combine the two Young Guns into one series worth $5000. Under the current system there has not been many nominations. It is hoped that with a final worth $5000 the nominations may increase in number and quality. A decision is expected from the GRA in the near future.