Crazy Cool and Rowdy Roddy in safe hands with Cauchi

By Isaac Murphy

Paul Cauchi is one of the most trusted men in greyhound racing, with trainers constantly seeking him out for injury advice.

It’s easy to forget Cauchi’s own training success, which was not lost on Rob Jacobsen when he found himself at a crossroads with Richmond Oaks winner Crazy Cool and Group 1 National Derby place-getter Rowdy Roddy earlier this month.

Cauchi took the pair on in a caretaker’s role and has them ripe and ready to go in Friday’s Group 3 Rockhampton Cup heats.

“Rob’s got plenty going on with full-time work and not wanting to miss out on opportunities like the Rockhampton Cup with Crazy Cool and Rowdy Roddy, he asked me if I could take them while he was busy,” Cauchi said.

“I think we have similar training environments, small kennels who can spend plenty of time with the dogs, that’s something we spoke about.

“You don’t get a Group-winning bitch like Crazy Cool and a Group-placed dog like Rowdy Roddy every day, I’ve loved having them around and am starting to get to know what makes them tick.”

Rowdy Roddy has been a hard case to crack, a winner of only three races before Cauchi took over.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with Rowdy Roddy, he’s a good dog but wastes so much energy carrying on in the kennels before he races,” Cauchi said.

“I’ve tried a few things to try to settle them down and while he’s not all the way there it seems to be working, he hasn’t won many races and he goes into Friday’s heats with back-to-back wins.

“You can see he’s happy in himself, we give him plenty of attention at home and he seems to be loving it - the barking and carrying on is getting better.”

The son of Jagger Swagger encounters a tough draw coming up with the pink in his heat on Friday, but Cauchi is optimistic he can wind up from the back.

“I would’ve liked him drawn closer to the inside for his heat, he’s not the quickest away and generally holds a better spot from those good box draws,” he said.

“He’s very strong though, he made a Group 2 final (Gold Sands) at Albion and as you’ve seen in his last two wins has no trouble coming from behind.

“I’ve watched a lot of racing at Rockhampton, and I think it lends itself to strong dogs like him, there’s a long straight to the finish line where he should be making up lengths to the line.”

Rowdy Roddy was ready to race when Cauchi took the reins, whereas Crazy Cool was coming off a whirlwind few months, with the trainer quickly realising she needed a quick break.

“Crazy Cool has been a different prospect than Rowdy Roddy, she’s come back from four or five months of racing with Group 1 dogs in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney,” he said.

“She looked well when she came back but like a lot of other dogs who’d travelled, was a bit flat when I raced her in early April, so I’ve just freshened her up since then.

“I’ve got a bit of work into her leading into Friday, she trialled 30.09 at Albion Park the other day which isn’t fast for her, but she looked refreshed.”

There was no luck at the box draw for Crazy Cool either, but Cauchi is confident she can make her own with searing early pace.

“With her I would have liked to draw closer than box six in her heat, but she’s shown in the past she can fly out and was very quick to the mark when I trialled her recently,” he said.

“Joe Patch for Chris Riordan in box one has been going well up there and looks the one to beat, but if we can get in front of him early, I can’t see her being chased down.

“If she isn’t on her box manners, we can still qualify for the Final but are going to need plenty of luck weaving through from the wide draw.”

Both chasers get their first look at Rockhampton Friday night, but being experienced travellers Cauchi is not too concerned going there first up.

“Neither of them has been to or seen the track before, so I’m not sure how they handle it until they get there, but it’s a positive when they’ve travelled well before,” Cauchi said.

“Crazy Cool hadn’t seen Richmond and came out and won her heat and the Group 2 Oaks Final, and Rowdy Roddy had never been to Wentworth Park, won his National Derby heat and finished third in the Final.

“They’re both smart chasers who should adapt well, if they can make the Final having a look at the track, they’ll both be winning hopes.”