Raw Ability

RAW Ability's Group 1 victory in the Paws of Thunder at Wenty last Saturday night added to his win in the Group 1 Adelaide Cup late last year.

He is a son of champion sire Barcia Bale and his dam is Bugatti Flyer (Bit Chili-Midnight Lace) and he boasts a pedigree that should be held up by all those who believe the Aussie greyhound is easily the best in the world.

He is their current poster boy.

That's because we have to go back to the fifth generation of his pedigree before we find an import ... a 5x5 double of Grove Whisper and one cross of Farloe Melody.

Way back in 1989 I got to stay with the famous former Queenslanders Jimmy and Christine Coleman at their Londonderry (Sydney) property to prepare a bitch of mine for the very first running of the Golden Easter Egg.

My bitch, unfortunately, did not travel as we would have liked and was run out in the semis.

Jimmy and Christine, however, landed the very first final with their bitch Ultra Sense an Acacia Park-Sense Of Joy home-bred who led throughout to narrowly beat Queenslander Acacia Ablaze.

The fact my bitch had beaten Acacia Ablaze comprehensively in a feature final at Ipswich before we headed to Wenty for the inaugural Egg was not lost on my wife and I.

During my stay with Jimmy and Christine, we naturally got to talking all things greyhound racing.

It came up about imports and their use at stud.

Jimmy declared he would never use a stud dog he had not seen race. That obviously ruled out any import ever brought to this country ... until they had proven themselves here at stud.

He did say, however, he had been "given the nod" he should use Waverly Supreme when he first arrived in this country. Jimmy, sticking steadfast to his golden rule, waited far too long before jumping on board to Waverly Supreme's highly successful wagon.

Jimmy Coleman would love the pedigree of Raw Ability.

He is by the current superstar stud dog Barcia Bale.

A close friend of mine has always declared the Paul Wheeler kennel could never produce a superstar stud dog. He was basing his claim on past experiences.

When I declared at the time he first went to stud that Barcia Bale would certainly make it, my friend was dubious.

Barcia Bale is NOT a typical Wheeler stud dog. He is ALL Aussie. His first cross of import comes via Farloe Melody and Grove Whisper on his fourth line. Why is this important?

Because it allows all those typical Aussie broodbitches, saturated with Aussie bloodlines, to link up successfully with Barcia Bale.

Of course there are other ways to breed, but the success of a stud dog almost always relies on LOTS of broodbitches having common ancestors to those in his own pedigree.

Raw Ability's damline is superb. It is one nurtured and fostered by NSW breeder Doreen Drynan and what a wonderful job she has done.

Dam Bugatti Flyer won 12 races and was easily the standout of her litter. She got 600m and 700m and was a Group finalist, and she was a multiple city winner and broke 30.00 at Wenty.

There are few better credentials.

Bugatti Flyer's dam Midnight Lace (Most Awesome-Buena Sarah) won six races and among those was one at Wenty. Midnight Lace came from a litter that included G3 Potential Stakes winner and G1 Nat Futurity finalist Eluthra, and Ravenstoke also a finalist in the G3 Potential Stakes.

There were 12 in that litter and five of them struggled.

Midnight Lace was a broodbitch sensation when she was mated to Cosmic Rumble to produce Billy The Sid (Gosford TR), Take It All (G3 Darwin Cup) and in her Magic Sprite litter Magic Lace (finalist G1 Paws).

The third dam of Raw Ability is Buena Sarah (Hotshow Ben-Sarah Isle) and she was a litter sister to Buddy Rich.

Buddy Rich won the Xmas Gift at Wenty, ran a track record at the Gardens, was second in the Peter Mosman and Richmond Derby, third in the Nat Sprint and a finalist in the Topgun, Paws and Gosford Cup.

No wonder Buena Sarah was bred with.

Raw Ability's fourth dam Sarah Isle (Travelling Ghost-Paradox) was a finalist in the Ladies Bracelet.

Doreen Drynan knew she had stumbled onto a winning formula when she put Midnight Lace to Cosmic Rumble and got a fabulous litter.

She reckoned if she put Midnight Lace's Group winning sister Eluthra to Cosmic Rumble as well, she might get even better. She did.

The litter included G1 Nat Sprint winner Chica Destacarda who was also second in the Melbourne Cup and a finalist at G1 level in the Topgun, Temlee and Megastar.

To El Galo, Eluthra produced El Cabello (finalist Egg) and Ella Bonita (finalist Ladies Bracelet).

It is interesting in the Barcia Bale-Bugatti Flyer litter of which Raw Ability is the absolute standout that few of the rest of the 11 named have much ability.

The Barcia Bale-Bugatti Flyer cross brings in the half relations Brett Lee and Hotshow Ben. Bugatti Flyer's sire Bit Chili is proving to be a very good damsire. He also works exceptionally well with Brett Lee.

And just to prove there are no guarantees whatsoever in breeding the greyhound to race, Bugatti Flyer was mated to Cosmic Rumble for her first litter.

The best that mating could do is Bugatti Dream the winner of eight races from 41 starts who has earned the grand total of $8500.

Which is surprising because that sensational galloper Shoulders is by Cosmic Rumble from a daughter of Bit Chili, and so is Group winner Cosmic Bonus.

Wenty's most "winningest" greyhound Bessy Boo is by Bekim Bale from a daughter of Bit Chili. Bekim Bale's sire Bartrim Bale is a litter brother to Barcia Bale's dam Princess Bale.

AND, Bessy Boo's direct female line is that of Genuine Replica who also happens to be in the damline of Raw Ability.

Small world isn't it!