Rookie trainer dreaming of Queensland Flame glory

By Jordan Gerrans

After a gentle nudge from her parents, Sharyn Jackson is also making her way in the greyhound code in Queensland.

Jackson’s mum - Jean Hose – has trained for the best part of four decades and is still going strong to this day, with Springtime Jet from her kennel to contest a heat of the Listed Queensland Flame on Thursday evening.

Jackson – who has been training for around a year – is also set to be prominent in the series, with litter mates Springtime Son and Springtime Storm also to feature in Thursday’s heats.

Despite being in the infancy of her training career, Jackson is competing – and holding her own – against some of the top kennels in the Sunshine State.

Since the 20^th of October, her team has started nine dogs for six victories.

“That is fantastic, I do not keep track and add them up like that,” a humble Jackson said.

“I did not even know my record was that great but the dogs have been going well of late.

“They are at their peak form.”

While Hose has been around the industry for upwards of 40 years, it was only over the last 12 months that her daughter has followed in her footsteps to begin training.

Jackson – who is a mother of two teenagers herself - always helped her mum out with the kennel in her earlier days but did not take on an official role.

Jackson’s parents – Ian and Jean Hose – welcomed a litter from their former kennel star Spring Time Girl with Fernando Bale and they could not manage to race all eight of them.

That is where Jackson comes into the equation.

All eight that have made it to the track have won races and with the Hoses unable to have them all in their kennel, Jackson kicked off her training venture with three from the litter.

“I am gaining a lot of knowledge from both my parents,” Jackson said.

“My parents wanted me to get into greyhounds and that is the path I have taken.

“I was always helping mum before I started training myself and they pushed me to be involved a little bit more.

“She is a great source of information.

“It is great industry and I am really enjoying training.

“I am happy and blessed with the way I have been going and Thursday night is the place to be against the really top dogs and trainers.”

Jackson and her family have built kennels at their Chambers Flat property to house their new lot of chasers, with three in work.

Jackson’s husband Craig has been along for the journey as well and says their dogs have been racing well on the back of Jean and Ian’s guidance.

“It will be a good experience to be in a series like this with the Flame because we have had a lot of experienced trainers helping us, especially Jean,” Craig said.

“I think that is why Sharyn has done so well, with the support of Jean and Ian.

“She has put in a lot of work over the last 12 months and it is starting to show now.

“The results she has been getting lately just shows how hard she has been working behind the scenes with these dogs.

“She has worked hard at it and I am really proud of how she is going.”

All three Springtime runners in the heats on Thursday evening come from the same litter.

Spring Time Girl was an 18-time career winner – including reaching a Group 1 Final – before she ran her last race in March of 2018.

The black bitch has proved to be a prolific brood bitch, with her Fernando Bale litter claiming $244,430 in career stakes as of Tuesday afternoon.

“Spring Time Girl got injured and could not race any more so we wanted to see how she would go breeding a litter,” Jackson says.

“The whole litter has come out really good.

“They are a fantastic litter and we are very blessed with the way it has gone.”

As the race did in 2021, the Listed Queensland Flame provides Queensland greyhounds and trainers the opportunity to land a spot in the second-ever running of The Phoenix later this year.

The Queensland Flame will be run on the first major night of the 2022-23 Golden Greys Summer Racing Carnival at Albion Park on December 1.

The return of the Flame will also see a significant prize money increase, set to be run for Group 2 prize money of $60,000 in 2022, up from $37,500, including $40,000 to the winner.

Jackson is daring to dream of landing in the upcoming Final.

“I have goose pimples just thinking about that opportunity,” she said.

“It would be big-time exciting.

“It is exciting but both of them are hard races.

“There is good dogs – clearly – in these races but my dogs are good chasers and they will always try their best.”

Of the Springtime runners, Hose’s Jet and Jackson’s Son will contest the second of the two heats, with Storm in the opener.

The Marburg-based Hall kennel and star Spotted Elk were the first winners of the Listed Queensland Flame last year before going on to represent the Sunshine State at the Phoenix at The Meadows, where they finished second to Wow She's Fast.