Brett Nye, 29, has come a hell of a long way in a very short time.
A refrigeration mechanic by trade, Nye left family and friends and moved from the border town of Barooga in NSW to a greyhound complex in Little River almost three years ago.
Nye still misses the place (Barooga) every day but chose to have a red-hot crack at greyhound training. And that he has!
He’s only been training greyhounds for just under two years, but Nye has made a name for himself through the deeds of Last Hurrah – winner of the G1 Hume Cup, runner-up in the G1 Sale Cup and a G1 Australian Cup finalist (all in 2020).
It’s incredible to think that Nye (who also owned former star sprinter Barooga Brett) trained his first winning double ever, followed shortly after by a treble, in January last year.
And his thrilling journey in the sport continues when Barooga Smoke (Box 5) lines up in the G2 CHS Group Horsham Cup (485m) on Saturday night.
Owned by Nye’s grandfather, Jim Psaila, Barooga Smoke (Jul ’18 Fernando Bale x No Sparkle Leica) has started 23 times for 11 wins, seven seconds and three thirds. Incidentally, Psaila trained 2010 Horsham Cup winner, Our Toyman.
Barooga Smoke, an ultra-consistent up-and-comer making his group race final debut, has also been placed at his past 11 starts – including six wins. In fact, he’s won five of his past seven races, including a flying 27.03sec (Best) victory at Horsham on February 16.
WATCH: BAROOGA SMOKE (2) worked his way to the lead before being pipped late by FABRIOLA ZAD (1) in their Horsham Cup heat. Winning time was 27.14sec.
But Nye isn’t confident his $34 chance on tab.com.au will prove a ‘Smoke’ screen for superstar Shima Shine, who smashed Horsham’s 485m track record in a Cup heat.
“It’s going to be hard to knock off Shima Shine,” Nye said. “Barooga Smoke has ‘bombed’ the start at his past two races. I would rather have drawn out wide and the quality of this field makes his task even harder.
“But he’s a talented pup, he’s fit and healthy, and I just hope he gets a bit of room early. My grandfather owns this one, so it’s a bit special.”
The G2 CHS Group Horsham Cup is Race 7 at 9.19pm.
