DARYL Brennan reckons patience is a virtue in life, but particularly so when it comes to racing greyhounds for a living.

The Ross Creek-based trainer, pictured above (right) with twin brother (and training partner) Colin, has been on a hot streak of form in 2015 – with a number of winners around Victoria’s west.

This came to fruition at Warrnambool on October 22, when the Brennan kennels snatched a double from tough fields – with Denya and Koch notched victories over their speciality short trip of 390 metres.

But Denya and Koch are just two of the many talented sprinters in the kennel – with star chasers Cogitate and Due Process headlining a star outfit just south of Ballarat.

“At the moment most of our team are 400 metre dogs, based on their breeding. There are a few that will get to 450m and there are obviously a couple in the breed that can hit 500m,” he said.

“When you’ve whelped a litter down, you’ve reared them, you’ve broken them in and you’ve pre-trained them, you do get a lot of fulfilment out of it” – DARYL BRENNAN

“We race what we breed and obviously if they can’t run out the 500m, we race them where they can win. We try hard to place them right – that’s probably the biggest thing we do with them.”

Daryl, 42, says that a meticulous and patient nature when it comes to caring and working with greyhounds is paramount – and with 24 years experience and a couple of group winners to their name, it’s hard advice to ignore.

“When you’ve whelped a litter down, you’ve reared them, you’ve broken them in and you’ve pre-trained them, you do get a lot of fulfilment out of it,” he said.

“We won a city race with Cogitate a few weeks ago, and the thrill was great… It’s very expensive to do everything yourself, from breeding right through – but to date, the dogs have paid back what we’ve put in and that’s all you can ask for.”

The Brennan twins also run a plastering business together, but are hopeful they can one day come across a few more city winners to allow them to focus all their working energy on training greyhounds.
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Watch: Koch wins spectacularly at Warrnambool last week.

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HOT DOGS IN THE WEST!
Nick Ansell selects his best recent runs in Western Victoria…

Geelong, 23^rd October

Dalgetty (Jason Thompson): Scored emphatically to take out the Geelong Cup in 25.60sec over the 460. One of the runs of the year at Beckley Park (Replay)

Aston Bolero (Jason Thompson): Completed a stunning double for the Thompson kennels, easily running in over tough competition to score in a best of the night time of 22.45sec. (Replay)

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Horsham, 20^th October

Mander Lark (Rodney Millington): Overcame long odds of $18 on the TOTE to score by a whisker, finishing in a time of 27.25sec. This is my run of the week in western Victoria. (Replay)

Buckle In (Jennifer Torr): Added to decorated short distance career with a classy 23.32sec run over the 400 metres. Another thrilling finish – decided by a nose. (Replay)

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Ballarat, 21^st October

Oaklands (Gary Edwards): Short distance superstar, who put his skills to great use. A stunning 22.15sec victory over the 390 at odds of $10. (Replay)

Spring Gambo (Andrea Dailly): Incredibly classy victory over the 450 metres in 25.19sec. Overcame a tough field in the process. (Replay)
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Warrnambool, 22^nd October

Big Ticket (Steve Clarke): He’s a big dog, with a big engine – and he lived up to his name with a classy 25.33sec triumph at Warrnambool. (Replay)

American Monster (Andrew Paraskevas): Has shown glimpses of class at Warrnambool before, and lived up to it big time last Thursday. Big victory over the 450 metres in 25.33sec. (Replay)

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Watch: A recap of the Group 2 Geelong Gold Cup including Jason Thompson interview.