New owners strike QGOLD with Essery in Townsville

By Pat McLeod

Rhonda Essery isn’t expecting much sleep if maturing chaser Management Zero continues her current form spike.

Like many trainers, the prominent North Queensland mentor wasn’t surprised with the growing enthusiasm of a new Brisbane ownership team.

However, even she was taken aback by their delight, when Management Zero took the honours earlier this week in a QGOLD event in Townsville.

“They did keep texting me all night after she won,” laughed Essery.

“I told them to go to bed because we all had to get up early for work the next day. They just said, ‘we’ll be late’.

“However, I was really happy for them, they were so excited and they had spent a bit of money on the dog.”

Essery hit the jackpot with the QGOLD result, taking out the quinella with Management Zero and Moustache Mick.

Third was Jimmy Roo (trained by Heath Ardle), with the winning time 21.79 seconds.

Despite Management Zero’s $11 starting price, Essery had been confident of that result.

“I have $5 each way on every one of my dogs that start, but I decided to have $10 each way on her,” Essery said.

“I thought the race would be run a certain way and that is the way it turned out.”

Essery said the Brisbane owners had tried to be patient as she waited for the right dog and then for that dog to mature as a race dog.

“There are about six in the ownership group, they call themselves Act Now Energy and I had trained for one of them initially,” Essery explains.

“They had been driving me nuts for about 12 months for me to take on a dog for them and they asked me if I could source one, and I said ‘OK’.

“When I found this one I told them that she would be a late maturer and that they would have to be patient.

“Management Zero was very immature, but in the last couple of weeks she has turned the corner.”     

The owners, a group of tradies who are all good mates, were rapt with Tuesday night’s win over the Townsville 380 metres, which paid $10,010 for first place.

And, they were even more delighted when Essery informed them that their bitch was one of her best hopes for the upcoming NQ Cup over 498 metres with heats on November 19 before the Final on November 26.

“I told them that was my target for her, my next project,” Essery said.

“They are very excited and I have no doubt will be committed greyhound owners for some time. But, I have told them just to relax and enjoy this one for a while.”