Promising greyhound Keen back from Tasmanian adventure

By Jordan Gerrans

Making a Group 1 Final late last year blew the mind of trainer Brent Kline and he is excited to have the promising Keen back racing at Albion Park on Thursday evening.

The brindle dog won twice in his first five efforts for the Kline kennel through April, May and June last year at Ipswich before being sent to the Apple Isle to further gain experience in his young racing career.

While with Tasmanian conditioner Debbie Cannan, Keen exceeded everyone’s expectations, winning on another five occasions before landing in the Group 1 Hobart Thousand Final over 461 metres in the middle of December.

While Keen did not figure in the finish of the showpiece event, which was claimed by Jason Thompson’s Aussie Secret, Kline and Cannan could not have been prouder of the dog from an Aston Dee Bee and Shez Impetuous litter.

From box seven, Keen finished just over five lengths behind the winner, which Kline, who also part-owns the dog, was overjoyed with.

“He was the baby of the field, there was only one other dog in the field younger than him,” he said.

“For him to make a Group 1 Final, it just blew our mind because he was not sent down there for that reason, he was sent down there to mature a bit.

“We were over the moon with him making the race.”

In the Group 1 Final in Tasmania, Jeffrey Britton's Do It finished second to Aussie Secret, before heading north to the Sunshine State to be a major player in the recently concluded TAB Golden Greys Summer Carnival. 

The Tasmanian adventure for Keen was all about learning his trade after claiming his maiden and novice races early in his career at just 17 -months-old.

“He was potentially going into fifth grade races against dogs who have won seven or eight races, if the trainers put them in the right races,” Kline said.

“It was a really big effort for a young dog to be running against other dogs like that and he really hadn’t developed yet, he was still really young and green.

“I have a strong relationship with the kennel in Tasmania and he was the perfect dog to go down to them for their juvenile races so he can run against dogs the same age as him or very similar, while he learns the game.

“That was the whole reason behind it, so he can learn the game and gain experience.”

Keen is yet to add to his seven career victories in his four races since arriving back in Queensland but his trainer believes his form is much better than the race book would suggest.

A property assessor for insurance companies away from training greyhounds, the Karalee-based Kline has not been able to trial his team of dogs as much as he would have liked in recent weeks, thinking Keen and his other chasers will only improve from their recent runs.

“I am actually quite happy with the way he has raced since he has come back, seeing as the runs were the first time, he has looked at Albion and Capalaba,” he said.

“Overall I am really happy with the way he is going and he will only get better the more time he goes around.

“We sort of threw him in cold coming back from Tasmania.”

In Thursday evening's fifth grade heats over 520 metres, Kline says Keen has drawn perfectly in box two and will be hunting the rail.

The trainer thinks the 520-metre journey is not Keen’s preferred trip and believes he will only get better once he gets out to 600 metres.

With five dogs in work at his kennel, Kline had three go around at Capalaba on Wednesday afternoon before turning his attention to Keen on Thursday under lights at Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club.

Kline is excited by a few pre-trainers he has in work that should make their race debuts in the near future.