Cutlack kennel searching for second big milestone victory

By Jordan Gerrans

Just days after her first metropolitan Thursday night victory, up-and-coming trainer Jedda Cutlack is dreaming of adding a feature final to her resume this week.

Just over a year since Cutlack prepared her first ever career winner, she showed she could mix it with the best kennels in the Sunshine State last Thursday evening – training a quinella in one of the heats of the Molly Campbell Silver Dollars series.

Cutlack shares her time between training in her own right, working for the Tom Tzouvelis kennel as well as being a part-time track attendant at Albion Park.

She is also in the minority for her age in the Queensland greyhound training ranks, still only in her mid-20s while many of her rivals are more than double her age.

To pick up her maiden metropolitan Thursday night victory at Albion Park just over 12 months following her maiden triumph, Cutlack declared it a special occasion, even though it did not really feel like it at the time.

“To be honest it was a bit mixed feeling as Tom and I work as a team here, I am hands on with all of his dogs as well,” the Park Ridge South-based trainer said.

“It felt good to tick my first Thursday night winner of the list but at the same time, I feel like these dogs are a production from both of us.

“It did not really sink in as my first one, because I have been apart of a lot of successful dogs over the last year.

“I only trained my first winner in August of last year so to think I have ticked that off quickly, it does feel good as you feel like it is worth all the work.

“I have been quite unlucky in recent weeks so I could have got this first Thursday winner before now but for it to finally come together, it did feel good.”

It was Showdown who provided the emerging trainer the memorable victory, but it quite easily could have been kennel mate Strategise in the same race.

They ran one-two over the 520-metre journey – both qualifying for this Thursday’s Molly Campbell Silver Dollars series $17,800 feature Final.

They have drawn perfectly to take out the Final, Showdown set to run around in the red jacket, while Strategise will be right next to him in box two.

The time-honoured series is run every year to honour Campbell and her family, who produced the greyhound form guide for all the Queensland tracks and into Northern NSW for a long period of time.

Cutlack, who has four greyhounds in work on top of the many dogs she helps Tzouvelis prepare, is beaming with happiness with the way the duo from her kennel drew for the Final.

“Honestly, the draw could not have been any better,” she said.

“I would not have complained if they drew the other way around, but the way they drew with each one in that box, it is great.

“For both of them, they should not get in each other’s way early on.

“I feel like they are both good chances, Strategise is a bit stronger than Showdown and has performed better on the track.

“They both equally had their chance last week and Showdown came out on top them so it will be interesting to see what they can do this week.”

The two Cutlack runners have each won six races in their career so far, with Strategise boasting a better strike-rate than his mate, winning those events in five less starts than Showdown.

“Hopefully I can get a bit of luck but I am not trying to get ahead of myself,” she said of her duo’s chances in the Molly Campbell Silver Dollars series Final.