Dart’s ‘Capalaba conversion’ will be complete with Derby success

By Pat McLeod

John Dart’s growing fondness for straight track racing may receive another boost this Sunday when his young speedster Typhoon Nev contests the Capalaba Derby Final.

The Ando's Mac and Lil Macie Breeze chaser, who Dart describes as ‘handy, but not a Group dog’ cruised through to the Final with a slick 19.66 second two-and-a-quarter lengths heat win last Sunday.

That was the quickest of the two heats, with Capalaba success story Bad Boy Wilson (trained by Dyllan Heddles) taking out the other decider in 19.79 seconds. 

“Dyllan’s dog has genuine speed and is more experienced at Capalaba,” offered Dart.

“He (Bad Boy Wilson) was also coming back from a bit of a break so should improve on that run and will be very hard to beat.

“But, my bloke is a good chance. He will be coming out of box two and I am OK with that. Going on past runs, I am not sure what he prefers at Capalaba.”

Dart only recently moved to Hatton Vale, west of Ipswich, after continuing flood issues at his former kennels at Dulguigan, a coastal hamlet in Northern NSW.

The highly respected conditioner says the move opened the option to use Capalaba for trialing and racing.

“Now we trial there every Monday and Friday and are racing there quite often, as well,” Dart says.

“You can definitely say I am now a ‘Capalaba convert’.

“Before the move to Queensland it was about a three-hour drive to Capalaba, so I really didn’t consider the track as a regular option.”

However, he and wife Glenda’s location closer to the boutique straight track wasn’t the only drawcard.

“The greyhound old-timers would often say that if a dog wasn’t starting well, then a possible remedy was to race them at a straight track,” Dart says.

“It wasn’t something that I had really tried, but being closer to Capalaba I decided to try it with him (Typhoon Nev) and it has certainly helped.”

Typhoon Nev has a 19.64 second personal best at Capalaba and goes into Sunday’s Derby Final in form.

In his past four starts he has posted two wins at Capalaba and two over the Albion Park 520 metres. 

While Dart is enjoying Typhoon Nev’s straight track success – four wins and a second from eight outings there – the future will be back at Albion Park for some feature, restricted age 520 metre racing.

First there is the Brisbane Rising Stars (heats on November 14 before the Final on November 21) and then there is the Queensland Derby (heats on December 27 before the Final on January 2).

While the majority of Typhoon Nev’s starts have been on the circle, the opposite is the case for Bad Boy Wilson.

A total of 13 of his 16 career starts have been at Capalaba for a return of 10 wins and two placings on the straight track.

Dyllan Heddles’ flyer has nailed a personal best of 19.34 seconds at Capalaba and ran second to Simply Express in the recent Capalaba Cup.

Dart’s Capalaba conversion is not his only positive surprise since trekking north in August.

“Our previous home was just 15 minutes from the beach and we really liked that coastal lifestyle,” Dart said.

“We weren’t really looking forward to moving inland.

“However, we have been pleasantly surprised and both Glenda and I really enjoy where we are living now.”