Business time for Balmy Nights in the Bogie Leigh

By Andrew Smith

Don’t let the calm demeanour of Balmy Nights fool you – she will be “all business” during tonight’s Bogie Leigh Queensland Futurity Final.

The John Mccarthy-trained bitch will jump from box one in the 520-metre final at Albion Park.

“She’s fit and healthy – I know she’s not the quickest dog in the field but she’s in with a good chance out of the one I think because she can lead,” Mccarthy said.

“She’s only small, but we’re happy with her preparation.

“There’s always a bit of tightening up on that first turn and dogs get interfered with so if you’re out in front you can miss that.”

A win would make it three straight for Balmy Nights, who posted a sixth career victory in the Futurity Heats on December 29.

“We’re not the quickest dog in the field by any stretch but we’re in with a chance,” Mccarthy said.

“They’re all threats - I think Jemma Daley has got the two Hara’s dogs right beside us and the 8 dog is a very good bitch.

“She’s come up for it and will be coming home very strong I think, so they’re all dangers.

“Balmy Nights is just a lovely girl to have around but when you get to the track she’s all business - she wants to chase and she wants to race.”

Balmy Nights comes from a Fernando Bale and Oh Golly Gosh litter, which has produced four race dogs including Slick and Rather Dapper.

With Slick a four-time Group 1 finalist and Rather Dapper winning a Queensland Derby, Mccarthy is eyeing off more success when he one day retires Balmy Nights.

“She’s going to make someone a great pet one day, but we will probably breed her though,” he said.

“It’s a line that’s kept us winners for a few years - we only breed and race our own.

“We don’t train for people and they’ve kept us in business so hopefully in the puppy yards here somewhere there’s the next Slick or the next Rather Dapper.”

The $72,000 final is an everlasting tribute to Queensland and Australian Hall of Fame greyhound Bogie Leigh.

The black bitch posted 41 wins from 68 starts over her career, including the 2004 Golden Easter Egg, 2004 Australian Cup and 2003 Brisbane Cup.

“It is a great honour but a deserved one too,” former Bogie Leigh owner Les Bein said.

“She was probably the first bitch or greyhound from Queensland that really hit the high times with four Group 1s behind her name.

”It changed our lives round a little bit because we had two retail stores but we never missed a race.”

Success in the Sapphire Crown Classic, Queensland Futurity and Lismore Cup also came in 2003 but it was the Australian Cup victory that Les reflects on most fondly.

“The thing I got the most excitement about was winning the Australian Cup - I don’t know why, it probably had no more importance than some of the others she won but I had myself geed up and I knew she was going to win it,” he said.

“When she won it, I had to go and sit away from everyone cause I thought I was going to have a heart attack!”

The Greyhound Clubs Australia President also welcomed the jump in prize money for the Brisbane Cup, with the time-honoured feature to skyrocket from $525,000 to $1 million this year.

Bein jokingly lamented that he didn’t have a shot at the huge prize pool with Bogie Leigh.

“When we won it was 50 grand – that was a lot of money in those days,” he said.

“The only thing I’m dirty about is that she was born at the wrong time!

“When we retired, she was the second highest earner ever in Australia…she was 30 thousand dollars off Rapid Journey’s record.

“I could have kept going but I said I’d retire her at the Brisbane Cup the second time.

“There was no reason why we probably couldn’t have gone on and beat that record but I wanted to breed from her and didn’t want to over race her.”

Tonight’s 12-race meeting at Albion also includes the Golden Sands Open Final and the Queensland Derby Final.