Monique Whelan (pictured fourth from left) is the trainer of Lakeview Harley, but training greyhounds in the Whelan household is no one-woman show.

Husband Peter, daughters Lana, Christine and Brooke, and sons Luke and Harley all help Monique with daily work at the family property in Metung, based more than an hour east of Sale near Lakes Entrance.

17 year old Harley says that because running kennel is such a team effort, it has allowed kennel numbers to grow.

“It’s me, Luke, Mum, Dad and all of the sisters. When one of us isn’t there, there is always someone else there to fill in. At the start, mum thought we were only going to ever have two dogs, but now we have about 15 including five race dogs and a few pups coming through,” Harley said.
Mum Monique couldn’t be prouder of what the family is achieving.

“I’m really proud. Their dedication our kids have to those dogs is beyond amazing to me. They treat the greyhounds with the respect they deserve. It’s a great family hobby,” Monique said.

In typical fashion the whole family attended Lakeview Harley’s winning race at Sale last Sunday (Oct 18). With Harley handling the dog as always, the rest of the family was treated to an exciting run. After keeping pace for most of the race, Lakeview Harley stumbled approaching the last turn, but impressed viewers with late pace to just secure the win.

Not yet having achieved a metro win, Luke and Harley believe Lakeview Harley is their best chance.
“It’s on our greyhound bucket list. We just haven’t been able to crack it yet,” Luke and Harley explained.

Dad Pete, who runs bridge building company with his brother, added…“He (Lakeview Harley) is the only greyhound we’ve had that’s good enough to race in the city so far. He has raced seven times in the city, running second four times and third on three occasions.”

Lakeview Harley’s win sees him at the top of the leaderboard in the 2015 Sale Greyhound of the Year.
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Watch: Lakeview Harley (2) scores an exciting win at Sale, his 10th win from 48 starts.

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Pictured top: Lakeview Harley with the Whelan family including Harley (handler), Luke (bottom right), Monique and Peter Whelan (top right), Brooke and boyfriend Tom.

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HOT DOGS IN GIPPSLAND
Bonnie Chignell picks her best recent runs in the region…

Traralgon Saturday 17^th October

Ataraxia (Andrew Paraskevas): An incredibly impressive win after capitalising upon his early lead to win by over 11 lengths (Replay)

Veetee Boomer (Wendy Duve): Jumping early on, this dog kept his lead all the way to the post (Replay)

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Sale Sunday 18^th October

Bells Are Ringing (Gerard O’Keefe): After trailing the leading pack for most of the race, she found speed coming around the home turn to dead heat for first (Replay)

Boss Senor (Robert Wynd): A strong win leading all of the way in a slick 24.85 (Replay)

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Warragul Tuesday 20^th October

Maverick Thunder (Nicholas Kosky): Jumping early in the race, this dog never looked back to secure the 460m Maiden Final (Replay)

Blingzilla (Neville Wakefield): Leading all of the way, this bitch was impressive in scoring a convincing win (Replay)

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Cranbourne Wednesday 21^st October

Transkei Prince (Ricky Lane): After getting behind early in the race, this dog showed his strength, mustering quick pace to win by eight lengths (Replay)

Nifty Neveelk (Gerald Kleeven): After exploding from the boxes, this dog continued to hold off the rest of the field until the post (Replay)

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This article was written by Bonnie Chignell.

Bonnie Chignell is a Gippsland girl with a lifetime experience in greyhound racing having been born into the industry. She is a Race Starter and Qualified Judge at the Traralgon Greyhound Club, and is also a hobby greyhound trainer. (Disclaimer: The views in this article are that of the author and not necessarily that of GRV).