Keep’s ‘miracle dog’ ready for Capalaba Cup glory

By Pat McLeod

Grafton trainer Stephen Keep believes the greyhound gods haven’t stopped delivering when it comes to his ‘miracle dog’, All Lies Ahead.

In fact, his confidence isn’t dented at all by his lightning-fast opposition going into Sunday’s $112,500 Group 2 Capalaba Cup Final over 366 metres.

“I have the dog that can win this,” Keep says in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I am going there to win, not to run second, third or unplaced.

“This is an exceptional field, but they would be as scared of me as I am of them.”

A victory for All Lies Ahead on Sunday in the straight track feature, would be far from a miracle, considering that dog’s excellent form over the past month and a half.

What is miraculous is the fact that the dog is even racing.

In late April the Barcia Bale and Precious Sal dog crept past death’s door after suffering a twisted bowel.

But, following a lengthy spell recuperating he is back in Cup-winning form.

“This has been a big achievement,” Keep said of the dog’s return to racing after being so ill.

“An hour later (receiving medical treatment) and the dog would have been gone.

“Now to come back with eight starts for four wins and four seconds - amazing."

Keep gives all credit to Grafton vet Ray Barnett.

"He turned things around pretty quickly. Without him then the dog is history," Keep said. 

“The positive is that there have been no after-effects from what he went through.

“It is all about patience. Just do the right thing with the dogs, that's all you have to worry about. After the initial treatment I had no doubts that the dog would come back as good as he was before.

“When I got him home he was bouncing around a week after he had the operation. The only thing he couldn't do was run because he was full of stitches.”

There is no doubt this Capalaba Cup field is packed with lightning brilliance, arguably the best-ever Cup field at the straight track.

The times tell part of the story.

Tira Mira (trained by Clifford Houston) has a track best of 19.29 seconds and alerted everyone that she was back on track after a lengthy spell with the quickest heat time of 19.52 seconds. 

Tom Tzouvelis’ Valhalla has a best of 19.35 seconds, while Darren Russell’s Top Gun boasts a 19.38 second run. 

All Lies Ahead’s personal best at Capalaba is 19.52 seconds, but that isn’t a concern for Keep.

“If he gets a tailwind his time will improve,” he says.

“His little brother (Sal’s Blue Boy) ran 19.40 with a tailwind and this one is every bit as good as him, especially with a clear run.

“I have got no doubt this dog is as good as any other dog in this Final.

“He is very strong and will hit the line as good as anything else.”

Keep said the depth of quality in the Final made it almost impossible to stand one dog out as being the main danger.

“I couldn't really pick one as the biggest threat,” he said.

“It will all come down to the luck over those first 50 metres.

“They are all around the same time and within a length of each other.”

Keep said the $75,000-to-the-winner made the Capalaba Cup a very attractive race to win, however, he said there were no nerves leading into Sunday’s Final.

“A victory on Sunday in the Cup would certainly put that as the pinnacle of my race career,” he said.

“I don't get anxious or nervous leading into races like this. I have a lot of dogs at home and they all get the same treatment. It is a busy place.

“On the day of the race it will be exciting, but no nerves.

“I get disappointed if I get beat, but it is a good disappointment because you are racing against very smart dogs.”