McCarthy gives the low-down on his ‘stand-up’ Vince Curry favourite

By Wayne Heming

Up-and-coming trainer Ben McCarthy is hoping his promising young dog Satoshi’s field 'IQ' can offset his quirky habit of standing up in the boxes in Saturday night’s Group 3 Vince Curry Memorial Maiden Final.

The event will be its farewell meeting at the Ipswich Showgrounds.

The Final, worth $75,000 to the winner, has pulled a super-talented field.

Satoshi is the early $2.60 favourite ahead of fellow heat winner Chatterbug ($3.20) and Moet Magic (box one) at $6.50.

Satoshi has a habit of standing upright in the boxes and waiting for the lids to clear before jumping while other runners get down and follow the lids out of the box.

McCarthy has tried every trick in the book and even called on the vast experience of his father John, a very successful greyhound trainer in his own right, to correct Satoshi’s unusual foible that costs him a length or so at the start.

“I’ve tried everything with him in the box, but he hasn’t quite got it yet,” McCarthy said. 

“He stands in the box until the lid clears his head. You watch his races in slow motion and the dogs are coming out with the lids, but he waits until the lid is head height before he comes out.

“I’ve spoken to many people and sometimes the more you try the worse the problem gets.

“I’ve come to the point where I am just going to put him in (boxes) and let him figure it out himself.

“It’s definitely affecting him, but it’s just him. He’s a pretty tall dog and he doesn’t get down in the boxes. If he could get down in the box and jump, there has to be a length or two in it you’d say.”

McCarthy said the only positive was that Satoshi was better at his second race start.

“His (two) second splits have been phenomenal really,” he said.

“He went 12.96 seconds the first week and backed it up with a 12.98 seconds the second week and reeled off his fastest final split.

“Not many greyhounds break 13 seconds down the back straight."

McCarthy conceded there were some talented young dogs in the race, but he was happy with his dog’s progress in last week’s semi-final win.

Satoshi didn’t get the credit he deserved for his first heat win because he had a good serving of luck in the run.

“A few people said he was lucky the ‘heavens opened up for him’ in the heat,” McCarthy said.

“The second week he showed them he was an intelligent dog who can find a hole and is not afraid to go for a run if it is there.

“Even in trials he has gone around dogs on the inside and outside not just stuck to the rails. He seems to have a good racing head on him which is an advantage.”

McCarthy, who runs his own construction company, only took up training last year.

He has already won an Ipswich Derby, last year, with Fast Eddie and taking out the last Vince Curry Memorial Maiden run at Ipswich, before the move to The Q, would be a big honour.

“If I could take out the last Vince Curry (at the Showgrounds track), I’d be over the moon, something pretty special,” he said.

Satoshi was named after Bitcoin creator and Japanese developer Satoshi Nakamoto.

He carries the kennel name 'Macca' in honour of his father.

McCarthy admits he has dabbled in cryptocurrency for a few years with some nice returns.

“I’ve been buying Bitcoin currency since 2017 and I’m heavily into it,” he said.

Just maybe, the Bitcoin connection with Satoshi can earn McCarthy another big dividend on Saturday night.