It was a case of third time lucky in the Group 1 Sky Racing Perth Cup on Saturday night for Victorian brothers Glenn and Grant Pask, who bred and race the well-travelled winner Vice Grip and his third-placed litter brother Rostered Off.
The Pasks, together with good friend Jamie Baxter, form the Four Frothys Syndicate, and Vice Grip’s victory in the $150,000 to-the-winner Cup final continued the Gippsland-based trio’s remarkable run of homebred G1 success.
Vice Grip and Rostered Off are sons of 2016 Sandown Cup heroine Bells Are Ringin, whose litter brother Ring The Bell won the National Distance Championship the same year and was a two-time G1 winner in New Zealand later in his career.
Star sprinter Blazin’ Bomber, another member of the sensational Kinloch Brae x Absolute Stunna litter, incredibly the first litter the Four Frothys Syndicate bred, was a seven-time G1 finalist and fastest qualifier for the Perth Cup in 2016, running fifth.
It was the Pasks’ first Perth Cup finalist, Decathalon, narrowly beaten by Victorian superstar Betty’s Angel in 2007, that ignited their greyhound racing passion.
“It’s great to breed your own and have the success we’ve had,” said Glenn Pask.
“There was a group of us from the Longwarry Football Club that owned Decathalon and from there, we got the bug and decided to keep going.
“At the time we were closer to the end of our footy careers than the start and we thought what are we going to do now? So, we bought a couple of dogs, then we decided to breed a litter, and the rest is history.”
Vice Grip and Rostered Off, sons of 2017 Melbourne Cup winner Aston Dee Bee, both started their careers in Victoria, trained by Gerry O’Keeffe, who also prepared their mother Bells Are Ringin and Ring The Bell.
WATCH: Victorian-owned sprinter VICE GRIP (5) was a brilliant all-the-way winner of the Group 1 Perth Cup final on Saturday night.
Vice Grip took a roundabout route to WA, including stints in Tasmania and Darwin, before heading west, where he’s undergone a remarkable transformation under the guidance of young trainer Adam Smithson.
Vice Grip ($6.30) continued his love affair with Cannington in the Perth Cup final, leading all-the-way from Box 5 in 29.42sec, scoring by 6.5 lengths.
It was a new Cannington personal best and his 11th win from 15 starts over the 520m course, with the G2 All Stars also on his resume.
“He just loves it over in Perth,” said Glenn, who was trackside at Cannington with brother Grant.
“His run was enormous on Saturday and Rostered Off’s run was great too.
“Gerry (O’Keeffe) had Vice Grip in Victoria and he felt the dog needed to grow up a bit, so he suggested sending him to Tasmania. He was only there for about three weeks and didn’t set the world on fire.
“After that he went up to Darwin for the Cup, he made the final, and then Gerry thought it was best for him to go over to Perth.
“We sent Rostered Off to Perth first and he went to Paul Stuart, but Paul didn’t have room when Vice Grip went over, so he recommended Adam Smithson to us. Adam’s done a fantastic job.”
The good news continued for the Four Frothys Syndicate at Sandown Park on Sunday afternoon when Bell Burner, a son of Worm Burner and Bells Are Ringin, trained by Ned McDonald, made an eye-catching 715m debut, clocking a fast 41.67sec.
Promising stayer Bell Burner, a half-brother to Perth Cup winner Vice Grip, was an impressive 715m winner at Sandown on Sunday for Ned McDonald.
