Legend Cauchi family set for Thursday night honours at Albion

By Jordan Gerrans

At 86 years of age, Australian Greyhound Racing Association Hall of Fame member Paul Cauchi is still going as strong as ever.

The multiple Group 1-winning trainer has not been as prominent on the Class 1 scene of racing in the Sunshine State over the last few years compared to earlier in his tenure.

The Cauchi kennel makes an appearance at Albion Park on Thursday evening of this week, with five runners confirmed.

Not all of the chasers are in champion trainer Paul’s name, with his son Peter and wife Jeanette also having runners engaged across the program.

Paul was the leading trainer in New South Wales for many years through the 1970s and 80s, as well as preparing winners of the Group 1 Association Cup and Group 1 National Sprint Championship, on top of numerous other notable feature races.

Still working with a solid team of dogs to this day at Tugun, Paul physically feels like he did many decades ago despite nearing 90 years of age.

Being based on the Gold Coast and having to travel to Albion Park, Capalaba and Ipswich can take it out of him – he says – but he would not have it any other way.

“I think I am 25 years old, but I am not,” Paul said with a laugh on Wednesday morning.

“I try and work like I am 25 still.

“If your mind is still there, then you are ok, as when you start forgetting things, that is when you get in trouble.

“My mind is still ok the way I am going now; I have no health problems.”

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

He migrated to Australia from his native Malta as a teenager and he quickly became ingrained in the greyhound code after attending a meeting at the Richmond track.

Half a dozen years after he landed in Australia, he was an officially licensed greyhound trainer after taking on a couple of dogs.

From Sydney, Paul headed to the Gold Coast in the late 1980s.

Alongside his family, the veteran industry participant still loves the game just as much as when he took out his license all those years ago.

“It is all I have ever done, the dogs,” Paul said.

“I do not think you can beat it as a lifestyle, you have to put a lot of work into it.

“The dogs always come first in my eyes.

“If you put the work into it, it becomes a good life.

“We love the dogs; you talk to the dogs and you treat them like they are your children.”

In his early days as a trainer, Paul was known for his stunning strike-rate as well as later on going into being a stud master.

The Cauchi family has five from itsr team go around on Thursday night at Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club.

The long-time trainer believes black bitch Samson's Delilah is the best winning chance of the handful, who is set to contest a heat of the popular Publican’s Cup for 2022.

Four heats will be run over 520 metres this week before the Final in seven days’ time.

All of the races are branded with names of pub’s from around South East Queensland.

The winning pub from the Final gets their name etched on the perpetual trophy and all the bragging rights that are associated with it.

The first three dogs home in the Final, the pub that has those dogs gets a 12-month sponsorship package with the club.

A litter mate to Samson's Delilah - Samson Power – is also a winning chance, Paul thinks.

Samson Power will contest the second of the four heats and will begin from the two alley.

The families five runners on Thursday night - Samson Power, Samson Delilah, Gold Fillings, Ayaya and Smart Houdini - are all from the same Zambora Brockie and Regal Emerald litter.

“He has started once over this distance and he was not far away in that race, he led,” Paul said of Samson Power.

“But, he got a bit tired late on.

“They are all young dogs – they are not even two years old yet – but later on, they could still get stronger.

“They are good enough to be competitive, they are worth following.”

Paul loves when his dogs draw the red rag with Samson Power the only one from the litter who has an inside draw – of two - this week.

“My ones need the inside box badly, for some reason or another, they seem to always run better when they are drawn inside,” Paul said.