Boody trying to find the key to unlock young gun’s potential

By Pat McLeod

Rockhampton trainer Mick Boody is a past master at re-igniting struggling racers.

“I was involved in the thoroughbred industry for a long time,” he explains.

“When I started out, I began with yearlings. The first six never made it to the track. The seventh  did, but never won a race.

“An experienced trainer suggested that I should look for tried racehorses. I did, with success.

“Over the years I would keep an eye out for thoroughbreds that had shown something early, but then had gone off the boil.

“I would buy them at a good price and then try to rekindle what they once had. We had good success with that.”

Around the year 2000, Mick and wife Amber decided to change codes, from thoroughbreds to greyhounds and have since achieved plenty of success.

Mick’s ability to re-ignite a flagging race career has adopted well to greyhounds.

In fact, he is working on one right now.

His home-bred Out The Bottle showed plenty of early potential, but that has gone missing recently.

On Thursday night the Whiskey Riot and Night Time Lover dog will exit box one in the Final of the Rockhampton Young Guns over 510 metres.

Despite boasting the quickest time across the field at track and distance (29.73 seconds), Out The Bottle just scraped into the decider with a fourth-placing in the heat.

That run was the latest of several disappointing performances.

“His recent runs have been very ordinary,” Mick said.

“It is just like he has lost his ‘oomph’. In the Young Guns heats he came out OK, he is never a brilliant starter, got to third or fourth, but then just plugged on.

“She showed nothing and finished about six lengths behind his best. I have a few theories as to what might be going on, but I just have to find the answer.

“What is frustrating is that I know he is a fast dog. He has already shown me that. Now it is just a case of finding out what his problem is.”

To date, Out The Bottle has raced 17 times for four wins and six placings.

However, in his past five runs his best finish, and only placing, is a third.

Mick says he won’t give up on the dog.

“I will keep working with him,” he said.

“I still have him in mind for the Townsville Cup heats. I know what he can do. So hopefully he will find his way back.”

Mick also has litter mates Jaggery and Sergeant Green in Thursday night’s Final.

A third runner from that Whiskey Riot and Butterfly Is She litter, the very smart Tijuana Twinkle, trained by Mick’s nephew Ken Boody, will also line up in that decider.

Christine Pollard’s heat winner, Edgewood, out of box seven, is expected to be one of the biggest dangers.