Talk of the greyhound world on the way to Sunshine State

By Jordan Gerrans

Queensland owner Terry Hines will feel a great sense of pride when he brings his boom greyhound Dalwhinnie to Albion Park next month.

Dalwhinnie is the new star on the rise in dog racing in Australia after he blitzed the long-standing Wentworth Park track record a week ago.

In a stunning display, in just his third ever race start, the Sunshine State-owned Dalwhinnie smashed the record with a 29.03 second performance in a heat of a maiden series.

The talk of the greyhound racing world heads back to ‘Wenty’ on Saturday evening for the Final of the series and shortly after, his attention will be shifted to Queensland.

In a boon for racing in the state, the Sunshine Coast-based Hines will target the Rising Stars series at Albion Park, which commences with heats on November 14.

Dalwhinnie’s trainer Bill Butler thinks his kennel star will be right at home at ‘The Creek’.

“I think the Albion Park track is going to suit him really well with that long run to the first corner,” the trainer said.

While stud masters have been on the phone to the long-time greyhound owner, Hines has declared his up-and-coming chaser will race on under the care of Butler.

“I am looking forward to it, no doubt about it,” Hines said of soon racing his top greyhound at Albion Park.

“It is all very well to watch them on the television but it is nice to come down to the track and watch him go around.

“I am yet to see the dog in the flesh yet, anyway.

“We are taking baby steps with him and going along, enjoying the process.

“It is a very good litter at this particular stage, there is a four or five of them that can really run quite seriously.”

The Group 3 Rising Stars series boasts a purse of $45,000 with $30,000 of that going the way of the winner of the Final.

The 64-year-old Hines has been in the code for decades and as he is retired from the work force, he is keen to enjoy the ride with his sensational young chaser.

Dalwhinnie bettered Shakey Jakey's 29.07 second track record over the 520 metres at Wentworth Park which had stood for over a decade.

While there would be some temptation to throw the young black dog in the deep end, Hines believes the Albion Park Rising Stars is a perfect launching pad for his chaser.

He described a trial at Albion Park as ‘crucial” ahead of the series.

“We are keen to keep him in age-restricted races for now,” Hines said.

“He is still a dog where he is learning to race still.

“While he is very fast, he is still learning to race if I am being honest.

“We have six runs planned out over the coming weeks in age-restricted company that will give him a bit more experience in fields, coming around dogs, going underneath dogs and different boxes.

“In our opinion, it is best to keep him in his class as he is still learning and he will tell us when he is ready to take on the big guns.

“At this stage, I would like to work a nice young dog like him through the restricted age until you go into the better races.”

Following his run at Wentworth Park on Saturday night, the Dalwhinnie team are working to trial under lights at Albion Park to mirror race conditions for the upcoming heats of the series.

The NSW-based Butler only prepares a small team of racing greyhounds as he mainly focuses his business on whelping, rearing and pre-training dogs.

He did so with Queensland staying queen Valpolicella before she headed north to legend Queenslander Tony Zammit.

While there have been high hopes about Dalwhinnie for some time, Butler was blown away watching him in action last week.

“It is just unbelievable to watch the way he stretches out, he is just so strong,” Butler said.

“It is unreal to watch his galloping action.”

Hines is known for having top greyhounds under his watch as an owner but it was pure luck how he ended up with Dalwhinnie from the Aston Dee Bee and Rasheda mating.

The litter also has produced Hoshino – who was prepared by Selena and Mick Zammit – as well as Make Them Cry and Depeche for mentor Peter Lagogiane.

Dalwhinnie joins the likes of former Australian Greyhound of the Year Whisky Assassin, Give Me Five, Canya Cruise and Amplified that Hines has raced as an owner.

Dalwhinnie is named after a whisky drink.

“I have always been lucky enough to be able to find a dog that can run a bit,” Hines said.

“But, this particular fellow, he broke in very good.

“He is just getting better and better but he is still green as a dog in the mind so we are taking our time – there is no rush.

"The truth is Bill and I still don't know what we've got. The record run the other night was just his third ever 520 metre run so as good as we knew he was, it was still a big surprise.

"We are nowhere near the bottom of him yet which is as scary as it is exciting."

Following the boom dog's trip to Brisbane, the Silver Chief and National Derby in Sydney are likely to be on his agenda.

While Dalwhinnie is breaking records now over 520 metres, Butler thinks there is more of the same on the horizon – just over a further trip once the dog matures with more racing.

“Not trying to get too far ahead of myself, but I will make a big call and I think the dog is going to destroy records over 600 metres,” the trainer said.

“I really do. I can't see how he won’t.

“That was his third 500 metre run the other night and the way that he came home – he is just a machine.

“I am really looking forward to him getting out to 600 metres, once he gets over that trip he will go really, really well.”