Louis Rumble revitalises Kavanagh to kick off carnival

By Isaac Murphy

Steve Kavanagh knows how to breed a serious greyhound, and the Pottsville trainer’s line is one of the oldest and most respected in the game.

It’s produced again with Louis Rumble (Fernando Bale/Joyce Rumble), who will look to continue carving out a name for himself in this week’s Young Guns Heats at Albion Park.

At just 25 months, the dog is a six-time winner at headquarters, running slashing time and Kavanagh thinks we haven’t seen the best of him yet, taking plenty of benefit from a recent trip to Sydney.

“I took him down to Wentworth Park about a month before the Group 3 New Sensation to give him a look at the track and to get a gauge of where he was at,” Kavanagh said.

“We came out terrible and did nothing that day, so for him to turn up and run 29.61 in his heat and 29.61 in the Final, I was really pleased with him.

“It would’ve been nice to win the Final and get a Group 3 to his name early on in his career, but he simply found one better in Jungle Deuce.

“It’s good to know that he’s right up there with one of the best young pups in Australia.”

Kavanagh has always been an advocate for racing up the straight at the Capalaba, with Louis Rumble reaping the benefits of a red-hot Young Guns series before his circle campaign resumes.

“I was able to give him a bit of time off after his first trip away and the Capalaba Young Guns looked a good starting point, sharpening him up before getting back to Albion Park,” he said.

“He’s never been as good up the straight as he is around the circle, but I was pleased to see him make it through to the Final and get a really competitive run under his belt.

“I love the joint (Capalaba), I’m always trialling and racing there because it serves multiple purposes; the prizemoney and standard are better than ever and it’s a nice change up for circle dogs like Louis Rumble.”

The dog looks ideally drawn in the red on Thursday night, and Kavanagh is hoping his experience out of the Albion Park boxes comes to the fore.

“We’ve done a lot of work on his box manners at Albion Park and more often than not he gets it right, he’s going to need to on Thursday to be realistic winning chance,” Kavanagh said.

“He needs to be in the first two or three around the turn, he runs a good 500 but he’s not the strongest.

“Having won six times at Albion Park and been runner-up in a Group ,3 he’s probably got a bit of racing experience on a few of his rivals in this series which should help him out.

“We’re fortunate to have got him going at an early age so at 25 months he’s eligible for a race like the Young Guns and will hopefully progress to the Flying Amy which is also age restricted.”

Kavanagh has been revitalised by the Fernando Bale/Joyce Rumble litter, who also produced Group 3 Vince Curry Winner Rumble Ranger, and the trainer has a clear plan where he’s headed.

“Everything has flowed together for him in terms of his schedule going from the New Sensation to Capalaba Young Guns, Albion Park Young Guns, Flying Amy and then hopefully he can show he’s up to top grade and ready to mix it in a Brisbane Cup and an Origin Series,” he said.

“It’d be nice to be involved in the Origin concept, this dog’s mother Joyce Rumble was supposed to race for New South Wales a couple of years ago but I had to pull her out through injury.

“It’s rewarding to have him going as good as he is, he was always above average and bringing them through from when they’re babies to a polished race dog like he is now is what it’s all about.”