Harrison a keeper for Pryce and Easey
Talented chaser Harrison Keeping produced a dazzling display down the Richmond straight on Tuesday afternoon, stopping the clock in a sizzling time of 17.56 over the 324m.
It was the son of My Redeemer and Milly Keeping's second-straight victory since returning from a three-week spell and a slight injury concern, as explained by trainer Sarah Easey's partner, Mitchell Pryce.
“I've been putting him up Richmond straight and he had a trial Tuesday fortnight and then the Tuesday before he raced and limped pretty badly after the run,” he said.
“He went 17.50, which is good as any dog going up there.
“I was wrapped with the way he was going, but I was concerned with him having that little bob in the front end after he trialled.”
Easey made the trip down south to Goulburn with her charge last Friday to contest a 440m event, in which the 34kg chaser was victorious by two lengths in a respectable time of 25.17 despite adverse conditions and fitness concerns.
“We worked day and night on him over the next few days, I was happy enough Tuesday morning and we put him around at Goulburn,” Pryce said.
“Sarah said the track was quite heavy and boggy and I thought he was capable of running 24.5 on a good track, but I was just happy for him to get through the run and get the win.”
Owned by James Cortis, who also has brilliant sprinter Aussie Cortis with Pryce and Easey, it was a friendship formed somewhat by accident, but which has now blossomed into a successful partnership on a professional and personal level.
“I think we might have got referred to him by Sarah Kedwell, I don't even know how it all started,” Pryce said.
“We only started training for him last year and lucky enough to get Aussie Cortis, who's an absolute machine, but unfortunately very, very injury prone.
“You wouldn't meet a nicer guy. I have the utmost respect for James, he would do anything for you and a good person.”
Aussie Cortis is also known for producing a sensational win at Bulli over the 515m last year, with Easey's reaction during the race caught on camera by friends nearby.
While standing on a bench seat, she was jumping up and down and screaming at the top of her voice, willing him to the line.
“She gets quite excited,” Pryce said.
“I don't react like that, but I'm just as happy on the inside, I just don't show it.
“It's always good to see, as you put so much work into them and the work that goes on behind the scenes that people don't actually realise unless they're trainers themselves.
“It's great to see your hard work pay off.”
Despite only a small team of chasers currently in work, Pryce and Easey have notched up a respectable 29 combined winners amongst them, with 51 minor placings.
“It's probably pretty similar to our 2021 season in how we're ticking along at the same type of win rate and our strike rate has improved a little bit,” Pryce said.
“We don't have that much racing at the moment, so I think we're doing quite well to be sitting where we are.
“I'm breaking-in and pre-training around 40 dogs at the moment, it's a ridiculous workload and I'm hopeful in the next maybe 3-4 weeks we should start kicking-off with a few of these young ones who are starting to show a bit of promise.
“Our better dogs have been out injured, which has made it a bit hard, but I still think we're going well, considering.”
Pryce wasn't born into the sport of greyhound racing, unlike most other participants.
“When I went to uni, I spent a bit more time in the TAB than the lecture theatres and studied the wrong form,” he said.
“A guy just came up to me in the TAB one day and said why don't you buy a dog, so we did.
“It won over the 720m at Wentworth Park and a few 600m races at Dapto and it got me hooked.
“I brought some pups off Bosco and Christine Stamenkovich soon after that and that's what started my line.
“I've still got pups from that line, including Despicable Bella, which go back to that first pup I brought.”
Pryce as an owner started to realise when watching his greyhounds race, the art of training didn't seem overly complicated and decided to delve into the behind-the-scenes aspect of racing.
Without the assistance of a significant mentor, he began developing his own training regime and checking techniques by watching different veterinarians and muscle men, studying their every move while running their eyes and hands over greyhounds.
“The first dog I ever trained was a dog I bred, and he had some starts with high profile trainers who said he was no good and then he won his first four starts with me,” Pryce said.
“I just thought it was a piece of cake, even though I didn't know much back then.
“For me, as long as they're happy and cared for, they sort of do the rest for you, as long as they're healthy and sound. It's not rocket science.
“I'm very good friends with Mark Gatt and I look up to Mark. Andy Lord is a genius.
“I sort of just do my own thing and whatever is working, but there's a lot of good trainers out there that you can learn off, as they're the big Group-winning trainers and with hard work and determination, I'd love to win one, one day.”