Valentino Fox carries the hopes of kennel and club in Publicans Cup Final

By Isaac Murphy

Tony Brett is one of the biggest names in greyhound racing, however Valentino Fox is his only dog in work at the moment.

This Thursday night, the dog will look to do the kennel and Zillmere Sports Club proud when he jumps from box five in the Publicans Cup Final at Albion Park.

The Publicans Cup brings together Fifth Grade dogs for a series for $12,600 in prize money, while engaging pubs and clubs around Brisbane who are allocated a dog for the final, with a sponsorship package on offer if the dog wins.

It’s fair to say that the people at Zillmere Sports Club should be feeling fairly confident given Valentino Fox’s body of work.

“He’s a dog that doesn’t handle a lot of pressure and really thrives on confidence, that’s why he was struggling up until his last two runs,” Brett said.

“He ran 29.90 in Fifth Grade and was just out-classed up in grade by dogs like All Hands Off.

“Wanting to get that confidence back, I took him to Ipswich two starts ago to build a bit of swagger and he ran a heck of a race getting beaten on the line in 30.44.

“I knew off that he’d be ready to go for the Publicans Cup come Thursday night.

“Fire Drill - who beat him that day - is a jet over 600 metres, and we were a bit of a sitting duck for him to chase, there was a lot of merit in the run.”

Valentino Fox promptly overcame an average start to win as an odds-on pop in his heat, with Brett knowing he has a bit more up his sleeve if he gets it right in the final.

“We were probably a little lucky drawing one of the easier heats especially when he missed the start a bit, but he showed a fair bit of guts to push through and go on with it,” he said.

“I don’t mind box five for the final, he tends to jump a little better from the middle draws - I don’t know why.

“But if he jumps like he can, he’s shown he’s a 29.9 dog around Albion which will probably see him go mighty close to winning.

“It’s a nice even field, they can all run pretty similar time but our ace in the hole is just having him hit the race at the right time.”

Before his Ipswich run, the dog was up against it behind one of New South Wales’ most talented bitches, however Brett still taking positives from the run.

“He had his colours lowered by All Hands Off and then again in the Queensland Sprint Final, but there’s certainly no shame in those defeats,” Brett said.

“You can either buckle or stand up against that company and his run behind All Hands Off was particularly impressive.

“When she headed us around that first turn in the past, she would have put a real margin up, but I was really impressed with the way he chased on that night.

“It’s been a blessing as well not winning for a few starts because it’s made him eligible for the Publicans Cup, which I think is a really important race on the calendar.

“Not all dogs are Free For All class and they get their chance in this series.”

Valentino Fox has achieved plenty in his 30 starts, with nine wins and 10 minors for just under $40,000 in prize money, and even though he may never be a true champion, Brett’s still getting plenty out of the dog.

“You just want to see continued learning and improvement from him and there’s been a lot of that lately, he’s not as scared to take a gap early and his run home is markedly better,” he said.

“In the past when he found the front, he was always a chance of folding late but if he gets a clean lead especially in this class, he wins that race most of the time.

“He’s not going to beat the Stinger Noirs, Federal Morgans and Oh Mickeys of the world but he’s got the scope to win plenty of races and hopefully we can make the folks at Zillmere Sports Club and his owners happy by getting up on Thursday.”