'The Rocket' skips retirement for a shot at Group 1 glory

By Pat McLeod

Veteran New South Wales conditioner Dennis Barnes has given up trying to retire middle-distance ace Nangar Rocket and the result may be Group 1 glory.

‘The Rocket’ (box five) will join kennelmate Nangar Gypsy (box one) in Thursday night’s Group 1 Golden Sands Final over 600 metres at Albion Park.

While Barnes believes both his dogs will need luck to overcome what he describes as ‘a very, very good field’, his fairytale finish would be a victory to the kennel’s older statesman.

“He (Nangar Rocket) is a special dog to us,” he says of his most successful product.

“He has a real character about him. He’s not just a great race dog, but also just a beautiful animal. I believe he deserves a big win. He came close, pipped by a lip (by Zipping Orlando) in the 715 Final (at The Gardens in 2023).

“So, I would be over the moon if he did win on Thursday night, but whether that could happen is another thing. You just have to look through the line-up of starters on Thursday night to know that this is a very, very good field."

Nangar Rocket is not getting any younger and is now over four years old.

"I have tried to retire him twice, but both times he refused to stay retired," Barnes said. 

“He freshened up both times and would bark and carry on until I would put him back into work.

“The second time I retired him (in late August of last year), I was adamant that he had run his last race and told anyone who would listen as much.

“But, sure enough, after a while he started bouncing around and chasing the whippet around the back yard. He started barking when I took the other dogs trialing, so I took him as well and of course he trialed the best. So back into work he went.

“He may be four, but his form is as good as ever and he is still very keen to race. I won’t be making any more decisions to retire him. He can tell me.

“Thursday night’s distance suits him down to the ground, but the five box is a bit of a challenge. He will need a dream run from there. He would need a lot of luck to win, but I am not counting him out, at all.”

While Nangar Rocket isn’t ideally boxed in the five, Barnes says Nangar Gypsy has her best possible draw, jumping from the red.

“Nangar Gypsy’s biggest asset is her early pace and so she has drawn the right box for that,” he said.

“I think she is a good show, but having said that, she will have to lead to win. You have Anthony Azzopardi’s dog (Gold Scotch in box four), who would be as quick as mine early, but my dog is inside of his.

“Then there is Tom Dailly’s Ethanol Water in the two. If we lead and she sits right behind us, I think we are a sitting duck. That dog is so strong. Nangar Gypsy has to use her box and do her best. That is all we can do.

“Overall, I think Ethanol Water is the biggest danger. But, the reality is they are all dangerous and it could come down to which dog gets the biggest slice of luck.”

An excellent result for Barnes on Thursday night would also be a welcomed, belated festive season gift after the 71-year-old recently spent two days in the Orange hospital and was discharged late on Christmas day.

He says the hospital stay was a result of a brief bout of ill health, but he is now ‘as good as gold’.

Good friend and highly respected NSW Northern Rivers dog man Dave Irwin took charge of Barnes’ two dogs while he was recuperating.

“Dave looked after the dogs through the (Golden Sands) heats,” said Barnes.

“He is a genius with dogs and they came to me on Sunday in great order. They are relaxing in the air conditioning in our unit in Grafton.

“I will take them both back home to Cudal on Saturday, but I am not saying anything about retirement.”

Another highlight of Thursday night’s Albion Park program are four heats of the Group 2 Golden Ticket over 520 metres.