Little Byrnes catapults Catton into Group 1

By Isaac Murphy

There are more fancied dogs than John Catton’s Little Byrnes in Thursday night’s Group 1 Gold Bullion final from Albion Park, but the youngster wasn’t even supposed to get out of his heat and suddenly gives trainer Catton his first Group 1 Final hopeful.

Little Byrnes lined up for start 15 in the heats and ran the biggest race of his young career to top a gun field and Catton is confident the only way is up on Queensland greyhound racings grandest stage.

“He pulled up super after the run last week and you’d reckon he’s going to get a fair bit of natural improvement off the run seeing he hasn’t had a 500 since the Derby,” Catton said.

“As pleased as I was with the heat win, you immediately start looking for areas of improvement and his first section could be his trump card.

“He was able to go a moderate 5.62 early last week and still lead comfortably, if he can take a couple of tenths of that he’s on the lure running and the back half of his racing has improved out of sight.”

The dog has been a winner from start one breaking his maiden and hasn’t hit a flat spot since, continuing to rack them up through savvy placement by Catton.

“We had a crack at the Derby with him at the start of January and he didn’t get a look in from box five, it left us with a couple of options for the lead into the Gold Bullion; let him have a couple of tough 500s on Thursday nights or take him back to the short course at Ipswich,” he said.

“I went with the latter and it really paid off, he was able to put a couple of wins together and equal his best at 24.73 and he come into last Thursday feeling good about himself.

“He wasn’t really keen on Albion Park early on without a lot of work on the track and we’ve had a few growing pains, but he looks like he’s figuring it out.”

As the dog is just two-years-old and has a lack of experience, Catton was on the fence about the Gold Bullion, but he only needed a gentle push from his owner to give it a crack.

“It was his owner (Matthew Cranitch) who originally floated the idea of a Gold Bullion campaign, I thought he was up to it and would run it, but it took a while to hit me he was into the Final,” he said.

“Box draws wins races and dogs like What A Debacle and Speranza suffered from that in our heat, but that’s racing and he was there to capitalise.

“When he got to the front I was looking back to see if anyone was making significant ground on him, but it was only It Ain’t Billy late who took a few strides - he’s up to the class.”

Making a Group 1 final is now checked off Catton’s list, next is winning one and a favourable box draw has him dreaming big.

“In a match race we give away time to a handful of dogs in the Final, but the full field is what makes the race interesting and drawing two again gives us plenty of hope,” he said.

“Ninetymile King in the one is slow early - we should be first to the rail, Crazy Cool (8) will be trying to cross Sentenced (7) and Shima Shine (4) will have to do a lot of work to get around It Ain’t Billy (3), with pressure coming down from Tommy Shelby (6) and Kooringa Lucy (5) out wide.

“A Shima Shine or Tommy Shelby could come out and blow them away, but there’s plenty of reasons to think there might be a bit of trouble and that’s where he’ll benefit if he’s on the bunny.”

Catton has been a stalwart of the industry in his home state and can’t wait to stand up and be counted come Thursday.

“I’m trying to keep a lid on it until the race but I’m extremely excited, it’s my greatest achievement as a trainer,” he said.

“Being a Queenslander and being in this race is a big deal as well, the Gold Bullion only happens once a year and to represent your state as a local trainer is huge.

“The competition has serious reputations, but the dog doesn’t know that, I’ve just got to turn him out in the best possible shape and he’ll do the rest.”

Along for the ride with Catton is owner Cranitch and a bunch of adoring mates, who much like the trainer are pinching themselves with the dog’s success.

“The owner has become a big supporter of mine, I met him through another owner I had, and he brought me Lucky Hero who we’ve had mixed success with but was happy enough to give me a crack with Little Byrnes,” Catton said.

“They’re riding high just like me, since his first start they always try to get along and watch him and I think they’re pretty chuffed to have their second dog in a Group 1 Final.

“He’s an Ipswich Auction dog as well, so after Thursday night I’ll give him ten days off and then we set him for that series at his favourite track - there’s plenty to look forward to.”