Champion stayer Sweet It Is’ first pup to race wins on debut

CHAMPION stayer Sweet It Is (Mogambo x Off Springer Nov '11) is now a proven brood bitch after her first pup to race, Aston It Is (Turanza Bale x Sweet It Is Jan '16) won on debut at Warrnambool on Tuesday night.

Owned by Ray Borda and trained by Paul Abela, the black dog was only fairly away from box eight, causing interference as he attempted to cross down towards the fence.

After checking off the back of one of the leaders around the turn, Aston It Is quickly balanced up again, railing through to take the lead in the run to the line to score by half a length in a handy 25.56.

Borda, who purchased the youngster as a pup, said he was impressed by the effort after a few things went against him during the run.

“He has shown ability at this stage, but I wasn't overly confident heading into the race because he is a mad-railer and it was his first start and he drew box eight,” Borda told Australian Racing Greyhound.

“But he showed his ability. He put a few out of business crossing to the fence, but he got to the rails and pushed up hard.

“I thought he might have cost himself the race when he got to the fence because he tried to rail up underneath the dog in front of him and he ran into the back of it which cost him his momentum.

“To his credit he persisted and was able to get the win so there are some good signs there.”

Sweet It Is was the dominant stayer of her era

She finished her career having won 23 of her 65 starts, with her prize money sitting at $944,945.

Borda says he was a massive fan of Sweet It Is on the race track, deciding to buy two pups despite the widespread belief that champion females often struggle to emulate their racetrack feats when they head to the breeding barn.

“Normally champions don't throw on, and even if they do there is a lot of pressure on the pups because everyone wants to compare them with their mothers,” he said.

“[Sweet It Is] was a phenomenal bitch. Ability wise she was a freak and she was the type of greyhound that everyone loved to watch – she created a lot of excitement and that's what the industry needs more of.

“Her pups certainly look the part – Aston It Is is a beautiful looking dog, but that's the mystery of racing – you never know what's under the bonnet until they get to the track.”

Borda says he isn't expecting Aston It Is or his unnamed brother to live up to the deeds of their superstar mother, but says the future is bright for the youngsters which don't turn two-years-old until next year.

“At this stage his brother doesn't look to be of the same class as Aston it Is, but with that being said he might get over more ground later on so we'll have to wait and see – they are only 19 months old so there is no rush.

“It's a big ask to be as good as their mother, but at this stage Aston It Is is doing things right – he has ability and is well balanced so we will have to wait and see what he does with a bit more experience.”

Borda also congratulated Aston It Is' trainer, Paul Abela, who he said is doing a great job with the pup as the entire industry watches on.

“Aston It Is slipped under the radar a bit on Thursday night – if Jason Thompson had him he probably would have been odds on and all anyone was talking about – but people know about him now.

“Paul is a very good young trainer – he has done his time with plenty of dogs with lesser ability and has been very patient.

“He is very methodical in what he does and I am sure we are going to hear big things about him in the future – he does a great job.”