Valentine targets kennel ‘wonder’ at Dave Brett Memorial heats

By Pat McLeod

Jimboomba trainer Jayson Valentine’s racing rookie, Miraculum, is aptly named.

According to its Latin origins the dog’s name means ‘object of wonder’ and that’s exactly what Valentine thinks at the moment. He wonders what the dog will deliver next.

It could be the eye-popping 29.86 seconds performance he delivered in winning his most recent start, a 520m maiden at Albion Park.

Or it could be similar to the race start before that when ‘The Wonder’ fell foul of the stewards, was given a 28-day ‘spell’ and left Valentine scratching his head.

The trainer will find out when Miraculum contests one of five heats of the prestigious annual feature, the Dave Brett Memorial (520m), for maidens and novices, at Albion Park late Wednesday afternoon.

“He is a very, very handy dog,” Valentine says of the enigmatic racer.

“He has got ‘group dog’ written all over him. He can run.

“The scary part is, he is still untapped. He hasn't wound up yet.”

As Valentine speaks, you sense a frustration to his tone that means a ‘but’ is coming. And then it arrived.

“But, he is also a week-to-week proposition, absolutely,” he says.

“This one has been a problem from the start.

“His story is that he was broken in in Tasmania and took a while to break in because he wouldn’t do anything right.

“Wouldn’t chase, wouldn’t do anything.”

Miraculum’s early schooling was with a couple of very good trainers in the Apple Isle.

That’s where the frustration started because every now and again the Aston Dee Bee x Rasheda chaser would show glimpses of something very special.

Valentine says one of the trainers told owner Brendan Halpin that this greyhound was ‘the quickest dog I have had in my kennel for a long time’.

But his behaviour eventually forced Halpin to send the dog north to Valentine as a final throw of the dice.

“Originally, Brendan came to me via a friend and I have trained a couple of dogs for him,” he explains.

“Miraculum had not had a race start before he came north because of his behaviour. We took plenty of time with him and thought we had him going pretty well.

“Then I gave him his first start (over the 520m at Albion Park) and he ran fifth. He was underdone for that run, but I just wanted to see what he could do.

“Then he had his second start, and let’s just say he then had to have a spell.

“So, we had to go back to the drawing board with him.

“The owner and I had a good discussion. We had thrown everything at him, except for blinkers.

“For his next race we put blinkers on him as well as making some changes to his training regime.

Valentine expains that this is the first dog he has had to put the blinkers on.

“With the blinkers on he came out and ran that time (29.86 seconds winning by almost 10 lengths at Albion Park over the 520m on a Monday).

“You hear conflicting things about blinkers. Some of the older brigade will say that they don't work.

“I just believe in trying everything to get the best out of the dog.

“If it works it works. If it doesn't it doesn't, but at least I know that I have given it a red-hot crack.”

Valentine understands the potential highs and lows that await him and Miraculum and refuses to put any expectation on the dog.

“I don't like to put my head in the clouds,” he says.

“We absolutely know what this dog has got and I also know what issues he can have.

“In this game you can come down as quick as you go up, but there is no doubt this dog could have a bright future if he does the right thing.

“And next week we could be kicking stones.

“We just have to keep his head right and hopefully he keeps doing the right thing.

“He is a happy dog now and he seems to be enjoying what he is doing. I have had a few problem dogs that I have been able to get chasing and winning.

“A happy, healthy dog will do whatever you want them to do. If they are happy, they will give you 110 per cent.”

Wednesday’s Dave Brett Memorial heats will be followed on Thursday night with heats of another popular feature at Albion Park, the Publican’s Cup 5^th Grade (520m).

The finals for both events will be held the following Thursday night (September 19) at ‘The Creek’.