NSW greyhound Bessy Boo is unknown outside greyhound racing circles, but the dog with the bitch name could become one of the most unlikely national greyhound champions of all time on Saturday in Perth.
Bessy Boo was a wedding gift to owner Ashley Wilson and her husband three years ago.
Being novices to the sport, and uncertain of the pup’s sex at the time, the newly married couple selected the name Bessy Boo, unaware their bitch was in fact a dog.
Christine and Alan Proctor, two of the sport’s longest serving and hardest working trainers with limited Group racing success, agreed to train the greyhound.
In November 2013 Bessy Boo had his first start at Richmond, finishing a passable sixth after missing the start. Bessy missed the start in almost every race he featured in over the next nine months. However, he fortunately possessed another racing trait that followers will recognise in every race he runs; an incredible finish.
As one greyhound hack commented, the dog would probably crash through a brick wall to get to the front of any field.
Nine starts later and Bessy Boo gained a start in a non-feature race at Sydney’s Wentworth Park. Still recognised as an average runner by many punters, Bessy Boo won his first race in his first start at his new home track.
While Bessy Boo went on to win 13 races from 41 starts and be placed 70 per cent of the time, the average career starting odds for Bessy Boo stood at $7.
This rather large number was admittedly helped after Bessy ran second in the heats of the Group 1 Peter Mosman in June at $28. Trainer Alan Proctor admitted after the race that the dog was not supposed to have been nominated for the heat event, believing it too difficult a task.
The placing gained Bessy a start in the $75,000 final the following week at Wentworth Park, but punters were still not convinced and Bessy started the Group 1 final a rank outsider at $17.
This time however, Bessy didn’t miss the start.
Anyone who had closely followed the greyhound’s career knew the favourites would be challenged as the field completed the first 100m of the race. While Bessy was still positioned in fifth after the first sectional (first 100m), it was clearly one of the cleanest starts the dog had produced in his short career.
Knowing the dog produced a powerhouse finish, it was merely a case of not getting checked in the back straight, weaving through the ranks, shaking paws with the leader on the turn, and then exploding to the front in the final 100 metres.
Tears flowed after the race and trainer Christine Proctor was visibly shaken. It was a popular win within greyhound circles for a training couple that have contributed so much to racing but had failed to win a Group 1 event until that night.
The Cannington track in Perth this week hosts the $200,000 Group 1 National Championships, which each year decides who are the best sprint (530m) and distance (715m) greyhounds in Australia. It is the 50th anniversary of the national event.
While Bessy was placed in the NSW heats only, he earned a wild card call last Saturday based on national greyhound rankings, having been elevated sharply after the Peter Mosman win.
Cannington is a larger track than Wentworth Park and the sprint event is 10 metres longer, which suits Bessy.
If Bessy wins (and the odds will again be long), trainers Christine and Alan Proctor will cap off a remarkable year of racing and the dog with the bitch’s name will go down as one of the true fairytale stories in greyhound racing.
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