Dapiran Has Her First Taste Of Group Glory
Bethany Dapiran has had a weekend to remember, landing her first Group win as a trainer when Zipping Rory led all the way in the Group Three Summer Cup at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.
The red fawn son of Mantra Lad and Cho Chang showed great early dash to find the front and was never challenged once finding the top spot.
The classy chaser raced to the line eight and a half lengths clear of Zipping Maggie, trained by Bethany’s father Peter, in a handy 42.08. Red hot favourite Sweet It Is failed to fire, finishing a disappointing sixth, almost 14 lengths behind the winner.
But, less than 48 hours later, there is no time for celebrating as Dapiran is already back into the swing of full time training at her Northwood (Vic) kennels.
“I am back doing everything normal at home now, doing all the dogs. I guess that brings you back down to earth when you have got to get up early and clean the kennels, but it was a pretty exciting weekend”, Bethany said.
Dapiran made the nearly 800km trek north with her partner Josh with Zipping Maggie also under their care. Bethany said that she was expecting a good result from the staying duo, but conceded that she thought Sweet It Is would be far too classy.
“We went up there thinking we’d be pretty happy to run second and third. After the box draw I thought he (Zipping Rory) had a bit more of a chance over Zipping Maggie so I was pretty happy thinking that I would run second.”
Even during the race it took a while for Dapiran to realise that she was going to take out the event.
“It wasn’t until they came past the 700 metre boxes the second time that I saw how far back Sweet It Is was and I thought that she wouldn’t be able to catch him.
“Even after the race I had to keep telling myself that he had just won, it didn’t sink in straight away, it was very exciting. It was all just an influx of emotion and excitement. There was a lot of adrenaline and I was shaking when I went over to get him after the race.”
It is a massive achievement for Dapiran, who has now landed her maiden Group success just three years into her training career at the age of 23.
While she had grown up surrounded by greyhounds through her family, Bethany said she had never considered picking up the collar and lead herself until recently.
“My parents have had dogs since before me and my brother were born. My grandparents used to rear dogs for people and they had a few that they would breed and my dad started training when he was young, he trained his first winner at 15.
“We used to help when we were younger and we would get pocket money for helping with the dogs but I never really wanted to train greyhounds, it has only been a recent occurrence.
“I never really considered it at all. I was in real estate and I realised that it wasn’t for me, I grew up in the country and on a farm and I realised that I needed to be outside and doing things. I have always loved animals so I thought I would give it a shot and it has been really good so far.”
Despite her success, Bethany says that training greyhounds full time is an extremely challenging occupation.
“Young people don’t realise that there is a lot of work involved. It is a 24/7 job, the dogs don’t know that it is Christmas Day or that you have had a big weekend. They have to be fed everyday and let out four times a day, to have that commitment requires a lot of effort and a lot of work. It is very rewarding, but there is a lot of work.”
Luckily for Bethany she has a very large support network around her. Her parents Mandy and Peter are a massive help as well as Josh.
“My partner Josh loves the dogs and he helps out too. He is very understanding of what I do and I am grateful for that.”
With a Group Three victory beside her name, Bethany will now aim her kennel star Zipping Rory at the upcoming Group One Sale Cup. The series, held over 650 metres, commences on the 21st December.
Congraulations Bethany!
Congraulations Bethany!