Dzeko

JOHN Dart was the least surprised person when Dzeko swamped her rivals to win the Group 1 Albion Park Gold Cup last Thursday night.

"Darty" knew way back in 2006 he had tapped into a bloodline that had unlimited strength.

But at the time, he got to see only one example of it.

What the "hell" are you writing about, I can hear you ask!

John, and his wife Glenda, have been a hugely successful training partnership for decades.

John is 62 now and firmly entrenched on the Northern Rivers of NSW where he has churned out plenty of quality race dogs for years.

Wife Glenda is insisting the time is now for them to relocate to Victoria and give it a shot in the country's toughest of greyhound racing stages.

Way back in 2006, now almost a decade ago, John and a couple of clients spotted a race bitch called Rematch.

A daughter of Go Wild Teddy-By Design, she was in the kennel of Gerard Bowe a Darling Downs dog man.

Dart was amazed at the strength the bitch was showing in her races.

"She ran home a final section quicker than Surf Lorian did when he smashed the track record for the sprint at Ipswich," said Dart.

He and his clients bought Rematch who to that stage had won just two races, a sprint and middle distance both at Ipswich.

Dart was training Miss Grub at the time.

She would become a Queensland greyhound of the year with some sterling performances in distance races.

She would win the Group 1 Albion Park Gold Cup.

When Miss Grub would up to her task in races, few dogs could hold her out.

With Rematch firmly entrenched in the Dart kennel, John decided to test her strength in a 650m trial at the old Parklands track.

Rematch was pitted against Miss Grub. Rematch gave her a start and a beating.

A week later the bitch did a stopper tendon and never got to have a race start for Dart and his clients.

John sent her to Darling Downs breeder Phil Muller and she embarked upon a breeding career.

She went with plenty of credentials.

She is a half sister to Group 2 Ipswich Auction winner Awesome Design, Group 2 runner-up Where's Indy etc.

Bred to be a 400m speedster, Rematch defied her pedigree with her natural stamina.

Her damline is that of Another Fool one of the best seen in Queensland for decades.

Rematch went to Surf Lorian and produced for Dart two fine stayers Tweed Bah Day and Woobera Surf.

Dart has just bought Muller-bred pups from a Surf Lorian-Celtic Match mating. The dam is Fear Zafonic-Rematch.

Dart got pups from each of Rematch's litters.

But when it came to her Radley Bale mating, Muller had a special gift for his mate Darty.

As well as his usual number of pups from each litter, Muller gave Dart a black bitch as a gift.

Dart gave her to his son Sam and a kennel client Michael Jordan.

She now races as Dzeko who, before her Gold Cup victory, had given champion Sweet It Is a hiding in the Lizrene at Sandown and also won the Cup Night Stayers listed race.

And she's now won $160,000.

Dart has already declared Dzeko will go back to Phil Muller as a broodbitch when she finishes racing.

"They" say great minds think alike � or is it fools never differ.

In July 2012, Townsville dog man Noel Vohland mated his bitch Jackpot Return (Bombastic Shiraz-Call Me Cash) to Radley Bale the just retired Wheeler-bred champion.

In October 2012, Phil Muller put Rematch to Radley Bale.

The litters are almost identically bred.

Vohland sold a black bitch from the litter and she eventually ended up in the hands of legend trainer Darren McDonald.

Racing as Eliza Blanche she ran a maiden class record at Meadows and eventually chased home My Bro Fabio when third in the Group 1 Hume Cup.

She also ran 34.80 at Meadows and 34.02 at Sandown.

Eliza Blanche's fourth dam is a bitch called Duel (Tarana Boy-Fire To Fire).

The fourth dam of Dzeko is a bitch called Sports Model who just happens to be a litter sister to Duel.

Duel and Sports Model both could gallop.

There is even more significance in the mating that just the fact it is the same damline going to Radley Bale to produce quality distance performers.

Go Wild Teddy (damsire of Dzeko) and Bombastic Shiraz (damsire of Eliza Blanche) are both out of daughters of Malawi's Prince.

In a mating to Radley Bale the resultant pedigree brings in a duplication of "The Prince of Sires".

The Tarana Boy-First To Fire mating was a real home-bred cross inspired by yet another legend of this industry in Reg Kay.

Tarana Boy's pedigree contains a cross of Newmore King and Coil Valley who carry the full relations Wondermore and Wonder Valley.

Both are bred identically to Tivoli Dreamer � yes, the same Tivoli Dreamer who became grandsire of legend stud dog Temlee.

Dzeko carries no fewer than 21 crosses of Temlee. Eliza Blanche has 24 crosses of the great one.

And, top put the icing on the cake, Another Fool (fifth dam of both Dzeko and Eliza Blanche) is in-bred to the fames broodbitch Racing May the third dam of Tivoli Dreamer, Wondermore and Wonder Valley.

As an aside, Queensland's leading broodbitch for the past couple of seasons is Where Are You.

Owned by Ken Crawford, the bitch is Hallucinate-Duel's Me Mum.

And, yes, Where Are You is from the same damline as both Rematch and Jackpot Return.

It would then make sense for Ken Crawford to test one of Where Are You's classy daughters to Radley Bale.

Where Are You's first two litters were sired by Elite And Classy and this gave them a duplication of First to Fire.

Her litter's to Outa Credit and Don't Knocka Him are bred on a similar theme.

The Hallucinate bitch Where Are You will bring in a cross of the half brothers Big Daddy Cool and Brett Lee in the resultant pups.

This is also how Eliza Blanche is bred.