Savannah sets some scorching sections

By Isaac Murphy

Savannah left her rivals standing still in last Thursday night’s Novice.

Gary Mitchell’s bitch went 5.45 seconds to the first mark - by comparison Best 8 speedster Hope’s King clocked 5.52.

At start number four and first up off a three-month spell, she didn’t run the race out as strong as Albion Park’s best sprinters, but still rollicked home in 29.95, and Mitchell is well aware he’s dealing with a potential star.

“She’s not your average chaser that’s for sure, that explosive speed she has I’ve never trained one like her - she’s pretty special,” Mitchell said.

“Oddly enough she didn’t break in all that well, she was looking like she was going to be handy but at no point did I think she’d have the speed she has now.

“When I got her back from the breakers, we did most of our early work at Albion Park, she ran 18.99 first look at the 331, then 22.8 over the 395 followed by a 22.55 - that’s when I knew she was one out of the box.”

Savannah is a product of Cosmic Rumble and Tahlia’s Way, and Mitchell was so impressed with the line, he bought a litter sister.

“I like to do my homework when it comes to breeding, I’ve always liked Cosmic Rumble as a sire and John Dart raced the mother Tahlia’s Way who was very versatile winning in 22.4 over the 395 and also won over the 700,” he said.

“I don’t like greyhounds that are bred solely to sprint or only to stay, as a trainer it’s always interesting finding out what the pups are suited to.

“When Savannah’s owner Philip Muller came to me with the bitch, I bought a litter sister as well Cosmic Spirit; she isn’t as flash as her sister but has run 30.79 over the 500 at Ipswich.”

Despite only having a couple of post-to-posts before last week’s win, Mitchell got a pretty good guide that Savannah was ready to go.

“I was pretty assured that she’d come out and lead them in her Novice last week, given 10 days earlier she’d broken the 420-metre track record at Postman’s Ridge," he said.

"She hadn’t trialled or raced for three months, so I was just as pleased with her 12.83 closing split as her first two sections (5.45, 11.67).

“She was only 19 months when she made her debut in the Vince Curry series and looking back, I think that took a lot out of her and when she got a bit of kennel cough, I thought it was better to play the long game.

“I’m glad I tipped her out when I did, she took a little while to recover but she matured a lot over those few months.”

Savannah graduates to race some of the older dogs this week, but Mitchell’s only concern is seeing her build some consistency.

“She goes up into a Fifth Grade race this week, I’m not too worried about who she’s up against, I’d just like to see her come out the way she did last week and set up the race,” he said.

“I’m yet to see her off an inside draw but I don’t mind seeing her out in box six, her acceleration through that first turn is probably maximised from out there.

“If she can do it again this week and pulls up well, I’d give a lot of consideration to putting her in The Flying Amy; she’s only eligible for those age races once and could do some damage with her box manners.”

Mitchell loves all facets of training and makes sure he’s always keeping a nice balance in the kennel.

“I’ve got seven racing in the kennel at the moment and her and her sister are at the top of the list when it comes to talent,” he said.

“Then there’s about five pups who are all at different stages of their development, I try to look ahead so I’ve always got a few in work.

“Probably the best bitch I’ve ever trained is Swift Dancer who won plenty of races in Free For All company over the 600 metres, she’s in pup to Fernando Bale now - I’m really looking forward to seeing what they produce.”