Crazy Old Goat giddy about the Golden Sands

By Isaac Murphy

Andrew Weise’s greyhound life has taken him from Brisbane, to Sydney and Townsville, but the owner and trainer is rapt to be back at Albion Park where it all began tomorrow night with Crazy Old Goat a live chance in the Group 2 Gold Sands heats.

Most notably a two-time Wentworth Park winner and Richmond 500-metre specialist, Weise thought his racing pattern would be suited to the 600 and he looks spot on after a gritty run last Thursday night.

“We were very happy; he’d had a pretty tough week with travel and was struggling to get his weight back up while acclimatising in Queensland,” Weise said.

“Scott Buckland who he’s staying with was doing everything possible and did a great job getting him in condition to race and run a strong fourth.

“With all that considered I think it was one of his best runs, he didn’t shirk the task at any stage and did a great job to overcome box eight and find the fence.

“He’s by no means a rapid beginner, so first look at the 600-start drawn eight was the big worry and he handled it as well as we could have hoped.”

The plan was to get a conditioning run into the dog before this week’s heats and he should be firing on all cylinders from a cosy draw.

“Box two this week has given us a real chance, he’s a different dog from the inside three boxes; even in Sydney at Richmond and Wentworth Park his results are far better drawn near the rail, he improves three or four lengths,” the trainer said.

“Farmor Watch Me in box four gets out pretty well, if we can just hold up underneath him on that first turn, I’m really confident he’ll run a race.

“Mepunga Isla who’s turned up from Melbourne looks the class from box seven, but nothing’s given in a Group 2 race and she’ll have to be at her best to cross the field from out there.”

Weise, partner Ceara Rice and family members who own the dog couldn’t have asked for a more honest chaser to follow, with plenty of thrills along the way.

“He’s a dream dog to own, he’s been durable and every time you put him out there, he just loves to run and chase,” he said.

“Early on in his career we had him over the 400 and I didn’t think he’d make it past 450, and here we are today in a Group 2 600-metre race and I consider him a good each way shot from where he is.

“He’s got his Wentworth Park wins in August and November which really stand out, it was his third 500 in about a week when he drew box one last month, but we really thought it was his chance to win and to hold off a really good dog like Medio Paso and win at Wenty for a second time is what you race for.”

The dog has been with a number of different trainers, but Weise is confident that he’s figured him out, and there’s plenty to like about him.

“He’s an interesting dog to train, he’s usually pretty content after he gets his free gallop during the week, but if he hasn’t had it, he lets you know about it,” Weise said.

“With his racing pattern it’s pretty essential, he’s a mad chaser; his first 600 at Dapto he had no experience, hadn’t even trialled and to run a strong second there convinced us to come to Brisbane.

“We thought he might be a bit flat after the run, but next day he was back bouncing around looking forward to next week - he’s a ripper.”

Weise still considers himself a hobby trainer, and like so many others it all started with a good first impression.

“I started off training in Brisbane and got my first dog off Scott Buckland in Greystone Boy, he was the perfect first dog,” he said.

“He was no superstar but won his fair share of races and really got me interested in the industry going forward having a positive experience first up.

“After he retired I kept going but was mostly picking up giveaways and never really purchased a dog, but the more you hang around the industry the more you come involved and when the opportunity came to go and live in Sydney with my girlfriend, I jumped at it.

“We wanted to get involved in a syndicate and found some good partners to team up with while maintaining majority ownership and that’s how we ended up with Crazy Old Goat after I got in touch with Dave Burnett who had him.”

It’s a family affair for Weise who has members in the ownership, but most importantly has his partner who shares his passion to keep things ticking along.

“My girlfriend Ceara has recently re-located to Townsville but both have our training licenses, which makes it a little easier with our small team of three to make sure they’re being taken care of,” Weise said.

“We’ve got Split Sound who’s a former Queensland stayer running down in New South Wales and not doing too badly, and we’ve got a young one Ferazzi who we think can be something if he can get healthy.

“For the moment we’re happy with what we have, we’ve got plenty of help from trainers and other people in the industry and are just trying our best to enjoy the ride along with the family with Crazy Old Goat.”

Weise said he’d never got to the bottom of the naming of the dog, but all involved love the attention he garners each time out.

“We get a bit of humour out of his name, people certainly seem to take notice of him which is nice, but I actually don’t know why he was called that - Dave Burnett named him,” he said.

“He always gets a mention on Sky when he’s lining up for a race, I think it’s a good thing to stand out a little bit.

“When I was purchasing him off Dave, we loved the breeding and the type of dog he was, but the name may have been the sealer.”