Titan Blazer raring to go ahead of Group 1 Melbourne Cup
It is a minor miracle Titan Blazer will be starting in the Melbourne Cup at Sandown Park on Saturday night.
It was only back in June when the three-year-old had to be sidelined for two months with a debilitating infection, the usually energetic sprinter left lethargic and lacking his usual zest on race night.
But Daniel and Rebecca Gibbons' star showed he was back to his best last Saturday night, winning his heat in 29.57 seconds.
His winning odds of $8.50 with online betting sites could provide good value for punters because he will carry that form – and the benefit of box two – into the Cup final.
2022 Melbourne Cup Heat 6 – Titan Blazer
And the Gibbons team is delighted, but more so because his health is back.
“He's happy and ready to race,” Daniel Gibbons told Australian Racing Greyhound.
“A couple of months ago he literally was a different dog.
“He was depressed in his kennel just moping around not happy anymore.
“We had his bloods done, and he had an infection and lost a lot of his hair from stressing.”
With a big question-mark over Titan Blazer's future, Daniel and Rebecca then backed their judgment to give him a two-month spell.
It worked a treat.
“We just gave him time away and that seems to have done the trick,” Gibbons said.
“Because towards the end of the time off when we were loading up other dogs in the car, he was itching to get out of the kennel and go.
“We knew something wasn't right because there were a few runs where he'd get really tired after his run.”
Even after a race – win, lose or draw – Titan Blazer just loves competing.
But for a little period he lost all his motivation to run, which worried Daniel and Rebecca.
“Usually in the catching pen he's happy with his tail wagging,” Gibbons said.
“But towards the end he was moping around, and he was tired and didn't want to get out of his bed.
“So we knew something was wrong. We got his bloods done, and the first bloods came back saying there was nothing wrong with him.
“We thought we'd just carry on. And then we put him in another race, and we just knew he wasn't himself.”
Gibbons is grateful he got a second veterinarian's opinion, which proved to be the right one.
Titan Blazer would likely not be lining up in a Melbourne Cup – with $650,000 to the winner – if Daniel and Rebecca did not get that second opinion.
“So we went to another vet to get another opinion, and that vet found the infection,” he said.
“The medication we put him on caused him to lose a lot of his hair.
“Then we killed the infection. He's still got real thin hair now, but he's definitely back to his normal, happy self.”
Greyhound racing is relentless – every week trainers are under pressure to have their dogs at their best because there is always a high-stakes race to aim them at.
But Daniel and Rebecca put Titan Blazer's health first, even if it meant their kennel star being out of action for two months.
“We kind of just backed ourselves (to rest him). I feel there was a lot of pressure on him because of how well he started off, and the Group races he made,” Gibbons said.
“With him not racing to his best, we felt we were letting him down.
“So we just went back to the drawing board, and did everything we could to try and get him back right.
“We changed his training routine. Now he uses a walker – he never used to use the walker.
“We play a lot more games with him just trying to keep him more active. We're doing different things – we're walking him, instead of putting him in a yard.
“We're keeping him happy instead of sticking to the same old routine over and over again.”
It was particularly good judgment from Daniel and Rebecca given they only started greyhound training less than three years ago.
And remarkably, they only decided to train dogs after coming back to Australia jobless from a year in Thailand.
But they had some very knowledgeable relatives in their corner.
“We lived in Thailand for a year, and when we came back home we were both looking for jobs,” Gibbons said.
“My cousin Sam Grenfell (co-trainer star conditioner Correy Grenfell's wife) offered me and Bec some part-time work helping her with their dogs.
“And we just bought a couple of our own. They went all right, and we just went from there.
“It runs in the family. They learned from my pop Graeme Bate, and we all do everything the same way.
“If it's not broke, don't fix it. We had good advice, support and connections.”
Daniel and Rebecca's speculative career move also came at a significant financial cost.
“We did take a massive gamble – we put ourselves in $1 million of debt with our property at Avalon, which used to be my pop's joint and we bought it off him,” Gibbons said.
“It was a massive gamble, but luckily for us it's paying off.
“It's just been a thrill. Going from where we were two years ago having Tier 3 dogs to where we are now is crazy.
“Titan has been a huge part of that. He's made four Group 1s this year.
“On the back of that, and having Kelsey Bale and the other good dogs that we've got, it's been a good ride.
“I know there are always ups and downs, but we're just enjoying it while we're on an up.”
One of those other good dogs in the Gibbons kennels is Emani Bale.
The three-year-old bitch will compete in the $105,000 to-the-winner Bold Trease Final over 715m also on Cup Night.
Brendan Pursell's Moraine Suzy is the $2.50 favourite, but she will start from box eight.
Emani Bale will start from box seven with $26 winning odds.
Despite her talent, Gibbons admits she will need some luck on Saturday night.
“If they could add an extra 200m, I reckon she'd almost be a sure thing,” he said.
“But she kind of does her best racing after the 550m mark.
“You never know. Every race, you never know what's going to happen.
“But I think she's going to need a lot of luck, and the frontrunners are going to have to slow down dramatically for her.
“Moraine Suzy is almost a certainty to win.”
Stagger Out Lee, with $6.50 winning odds, has the one box for 24-year-old trainer Jack Strutt.
Gibbons has been impressed with both Strutt's runner and the young conditioner's attitude.
“Jack Strutt from Wagga with Stagger Out Lee – it'd be good to see him get up,” he said.
“He's a good kid, and it'd be good to see someone different win.”
2022 Group 1 Melbourne Cup Final Field Box DrawSandown Park515mGroup 1$650,000 to-the-winner
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1 Plaintiff
T: Jason ThompsonF: 2311Career: 31: 17-8-1
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2 Titan Blazer
T: Daniel GibbonsF: 6321Career: 56: 21-9-9
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3 Vice Grip
T: Adam SmithsonF: 2131Career: 81: 37-17-10
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4 Yachi Bale
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5 Fernando Mick
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6 Zippy Tesla
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7 El Dorado
T: Daryl HolmesF: 5121Career: 33: 17-7-2
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8 Paddy Wants Pats
T: Kelly BravoF: 2811Career: 49: 19-6-5
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| Reserves | |
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9 Zara's Ivan
T: Brad KeelF: 4662Career: 48: 12-8-6
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10 Amron Boy
T: Brooke EnnisF: 2512Career: 28: 11-7-1
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