HE'S a big dog, but as nice a type as you could wish to see.

That's Metz Magic (Bombastic Shiraz-Witheren's Girl) who defied his poor box manners and inexperience to swoop around a hot field to win the Group 1 National Sprint at Albion Park last Thursday night.

I remember very well the night at Albion Park a few years ago when Bill Crooks asked about potential mates for a couple of smart race bitches he owned.

They are Gozo Tess and Witheren's Girl.

Gozo Tess had won 21 races, 17 of them at Albion Park, and run 30 placings. She is a daughter of Bright Ebony-Sleek Model.

Witheren's Girl, a daughter of Placard-Berella Shantal, won 22 races and 13 of those were at Albion Park. She was the better of the two race bitches being placed at Group level in the Ipswich Gold Cup and was a finalist in the Qld Futurity. She was also placed in a Winged Runner Trophy a race proving its worth for high quality bitches.

Bill had a frozen semen vial to Token Prince and was keen to use it on Witheren's Girl.

He was keen to put Bombastic Shiraz over Gozo Tess.

Fortunately for Bill he went the other way and now has two very good litters, including a Group 1 winner called Metz Magic.

The reasoning behind those choices was simple.

Gozo Tess has a pedigree very similar to Cheeky Sprite the dam of multiple Group 1 winner and multiple track record breaker Queen Lauryn (by Token Prince).

It was natural that we should try to talk Bill into putting Gozo Tess to Token Prince.

This would recreate, to a degree, the mating that produced Queen Lauryn.

It has produced the very fast bitch Miss Milkshake who led for home in the Group 3 Mega Maiden at Wentworth Park early in the year only to be run down by Zipping Man.

Interesting that two of the beaten brigade in that Maiden final were Zipping Lad and Cold Fusion who would play a huge role in Nationals at Albion Park last Thursday night.

The choice to put Witheren's Girl to Bombastic Shiraz was a natural.

She is from the Berella damline that Laureene Renner in Queensland has done wonders with over the past few decades.

Laureene has recently scaled down his greyhound breeding but there are few more knowledgeable breeders than she.

This damline has done particularly well in recent years when mated to Bombastic Shiraz.

This is a female line that traces to Laureene's initial star Berella Xanadu winner of the Dapto Maiden Classic back in 1998 a bitch that contained the famous broodbitch Secretly in all four of her dominant lines.

Berella Xanadu had two crosses of Brother Fox and two of Pretty Short.

Brother Fox's sire Little Blade was out of Bonnie Secret. Pretty Short's dam Pretty New was out of Bonnie Secret's sister Newmore's Secret.

Pretty Fearless is duplicated in the pedigree of Berella Shantal (granddam of Metz Magic) and his dam Fearless Payout was line bred to famous broodbitch Byam Rose and the brothers Gogodalla and Dashing Conqueror.

While all this is fascinating stuff, the real worth of the pedigree behind Metz Magic is that it brings in the link between Bombastic Blonde (dam of Bombastic Shiraz) and Placard (sire of Witheren's Girl).

Wee Sal and Shining Chariot have an extremely close relationship and are found significantly linked in the pedigree of such greats as Betty's Angel, Trewly Special, Lochinvar Marlow etc etc.

Wee Sale and Shining Chariot provided a balancing effect.

I suggest anyone who is interested in such aspects of a pedigree should look closely too at how Bombastic Blonde and Placard are bred.

It too is a significant balancing effect. I believe Bombastic Blonde and Placard will be able to be linked within pedigrees for years to come.

Getting them in the right position will be the trick.

Let's look at both their pedigrees.

Bombastic Blonde is a DAUGHTER of Malawi's Prince.

Placard is a SON of Malawi's Prince.

Blonde Bombshell, the dam of Bombastic Blonde, is a DAUGHTER of Shining Chariot.

Gem's Delight, the dam of Placard, is sired by Benjason significantly a SON of Shining Chariot.

So, whenever Bombastic Blonde and Placard meet up within a pedigree they will provide a significant balance for each other.

Witheren's Girl, dam of Metz Magic, also carries a cross of Worth Doing in her female line. His dam Versatile Miss is a half sister to Bombastic Shiraz's fourth dam Zelwe, both being out of champion Zulu Moss' daughter Zimbabwe a litter sister to top class galloper and sire Chief Dingaan.

I'm not too sure the link between Versatile Miss and Zelwe will impact all that greatly on Metz Magic, but it is their anyway.

Another interesting factor here is that Witheren's Girl has a son of Acacia Ablaze in her damline. Acacia Ablaze, regarded as a colonial outcross but really a dog with many, many links to the Temlee line, is the sire of Hotshot who did well when his daughters were crossed with Bombastic Shiraz (Sky Hazzard).

Bill Crooks tells me he has a litter of Surf Lorian-Witheren's Girl just broken in with great reports.