Halls dog all the chat ahead of Vince Curry

By Jordan Gerrans

It is a damline that has delivered the Hall kennel some of their greatest success’ in the greyhound code and the Marburg team are optimistic their names will be up in lights once again with impressive young chaser Chatterbug.

Chatterbug is a daughter of You Bug Me who goes back to broodbitch Irish Malt on her mother's side.  

The husband-and-wife training combination of Leanne and Graham Hall enjoyed some of their best moments in racing through the same damline.

Litter sisters Extra Malt and Spotted Elk were star dogs for the Halls with Spotted Elk running into second place in the inaugural edition of The Phoenix after winning the local Queensland Flame to qualify.

Extra Malt and Spotted Elk are daughters of It Gets Better who is also related to Irish Malt.

While races like The Phoenix are always the dream, Chatterbug will be aiming to knock over the time-honoured Group 3 Vince Curry Maiden series first.

After an eye-catching 30.22 second semi-final triumph, the Halls emerging bitch is considered one of the leading fancies in Saturday’s decider.

Leanne is listed as the white and black bitch’s trainer but as is the case with all their dogs, Graham is heavily involved with their preparations.

“The Vince Curry is traditionally a very strong field at the end of the day,” Graham said.

“As a kennel, it would be great for us to get this one as it will be the last one staged at Ipswich. It will be a milestone from our point of view.

“It has been a terrific series for Ipswich and it continues to grow – hopefully once we transition to The Q it will keep going there, as well.

“There is a lot of pace inside in Saturday’s field.”

Spotted Elk was crowned the 2021 Queensland Greyhound of the Year.

The now retired bitch claimed the inaugural Listed Queensland Flame.

She led for a large portion of The Phoenix at The Meadows before being caught late to finish a scintillating second.

While Chatterbug is only two starts into her career, Leanne says she has the same early pace as Spotted Elk.

The Marburg-based Graham believes the kennel newcomer will be a stronger 520 metre dog down the line than what Spotted Elk was.

“I think she has got a good career in front of her,” Leanne said.

Following the heats and semi-final legs of the series, Satoshi, Chatterbug and Moet Magic are the leading hopefuls for Saturday’s $75,000 to the winner decider.

Chatterbug’s owner Burnie Scanlan has made the trip up from Victoria to watch his youngster race in the prestigious series.

Scanlan owns You Bug Me and has bred a few litters over the years.

He loaned the dam, You Bug Me, to Graeme Jose who prepared sire Lots Of Chatter during his career on a deal where he would get a few pups.

Scanlan is now racing Chatterbug and her litter sister Bug Me Not.

He broke in the two bitches who are both racing under the Halls banner in South East Queensland.

“We have had a bit of success so far,” Scanlan said of Chatterbug’s start to her racing career.

“She has always shown a bit and improved every time with her trials. She just keeps getting better and better. At the moment, she is going really well.”

Bug Me Not has won twice and been placed on four other occasions from 11 starts.

Graham believes Bug Me Not will be a 600 metre dog in the near future.

Scanlan has owned some smart dogs over the years, including Silk (also a progeny of You Bug Me) who posted a 29.27 second win around Sandown but only had 18 career starts.

While the Victorian dog lover is not getting ahead of himself, he is hopeful Chatterbug is on the right path.

“If she steps alright then she will be in it somewhere along the race,” Scanlan said of Saturday’s event.

“I think we have got a bit of a show.

“Besides the money, it would just be fantastic to win on Saturday as everyone wants to get a good dog.”

Chatterbug had been running promising trial times before finishing second on debut in a heat of the Vince Curry series.

She put it all together in the semi-final leg, scoring from the inside alley in a best of the night time.

“She has been trialing really well this girl, she has had a really solid prep for this series,” Graham said.

“She has improved every time we have put her around.

“I did not think she would run 30.22 seconds but we are happy to take it. We are very happy with her.”

The Halls were ready to debut Chatterbug a few months ago at Albion Park but those plans were put on hold when she came on season.

It was a blessing in disguise as now she is one of the leading contenders for the rich maiden series at Ipswich.

She has been handed the seven starting position on Saturday evening.

Leanne is hopeful she can lead the field from the seven.