Horsham trainer Peter Carter needed plenty of convincing to make the expedition to The Meadows last Saturday night with middle distance prospect Reinforcements.
Reinforcements, the only greyhound 42-year-old Carter currently has in work, was drawn to face Group 1-winning powerhouse Zippy Tesla at his eagerly anticipated 600m debut in heats of a lucrative Grade 5 series.
“I’m a glass half empty man!” Carter quipped.
“I was looking for a reason not to run and thought I’d found a good one – Zippy Tesla.
“When I saw the field, I said I’m scratching!
“Zippy Tesla had run in the Topgun, Melbourne Cup Final and The Phoenix. I thought he’d jump to the front and probably break the record. I didn’t think I had any hope at all.”
But after encouragement from his father, Michael, and Garry George, his mentors and confidantes, and convincing wife Ange about the merits of venturing to Melbourne on Christmas Eve, Carter took up the challenge.
His decision paid off handsomely as Reinforcements ($7.70) led all-the-way in 34.33sec, with $1.90 favourite Zippy Tesla running fourth.
The win at her second 600m assignment continued a career best run of form for Reinforcements, a superbly-related daughter of Barcia Bale and Bobby Soxer, a litter sister to three-time G1 winner Sennachie, that Carter purchased off breeder George Farrugia at three months of age.
‘Thelma’ has now won 10 of her 26 starts, including four of her past seven.
WATCH: REINFORCEMENTS (B7) upstaged favourite ZIPPY TESLA (B3) at the G1 winner’s middle distance debut last Saturday night at The Meadows, leading all-the-way over 600m in 34.33sec.
“She’s never gone this good,” Carter said.
“She’s a funny dog and it took a bit to work her out. I have to race her fresh. She doesn’t go off the lead.
“I gave her a 485m at Horsham and her run-home was enormous and I was looking at 500m and 600m Grade 5 heats at The Meadows. Dad said 600m!
“I took her to The Meadows on a Wednesday for her first ‘600’. I get very nervous – I’m shocking – and I dropped my head and was looking at the ground. I heard the caller say she was two in front, and I thought that’s not far enough! She hit the headwind turning for home and got caught on the post.
“I wasn’t going to go back for the heats, but Dad told me she would take that much out of the run, being her first time over that journey and first go out of the 600m boxes. He said, ‘Don’t be soft!’
“I run everything past Dad and Garry George. They’re my sounding boards.
“I’ve got a wife and three kids at home and Ange raised her eyebrows when I told her the race was on Christmas Eve, but when I agreed ‘some’ of the prizemoney could go towards school fees, she was okay with it.”
Given Carter’s self-admitted pessimistic nature, he isn’t confident about Reinforcements’ chances in Saturday night’s $12,000 to-the-winner final – race 5 at 7.17pm – despite form expert The Watchdog selecting her on top.
She’s $3.90 with Sportsbet, behind second reserve Zippy Tesla at $2.40 and Kai Bale (box 4) $3.40.
“In that class, she needs to step,” he said.
“If she misses it a half-step she’s buggered. She won’t run those dogs down.
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“She should hopefully improve a bit in her run-home.
“She was only a length off Zipping Rambo’s first split record (8.77sec) last week, but that uses up a lot of juice.”
Carter, who’s employed full-time at Horsham GRC as “2IC”, filling a variety of roles, including OH & S and marketing and promotions, rates Reinforcements the best greyhound the family has had since another distance diamond, Fly On Bonnie, in the early 2000s.
“Fly On Bonnie was trained for us by Michael Puleio,” Carter explained.
“She won a Group 3 over the distance (SA Distance Championship) and was placed in a couple of Group 1s.
“She was also the mother of the first dog I trained, Carlinford Ron. He came from last to win his first start at Horsham and I told Dad we needed to give him to a better trainer because I’d ruin him!”
Greyhound racing looks sure to remain in the Carter family, with Peter’s children following a proud tradition, while he has a Feral Franky straw waiting for Reinforcements when the breeding barn calls.
“My eldest son, Dezi, has just started catching dogs after school and helping with them at home, as do our other son Jett and daughter Misha, while Ange feeds up for me and looks after things when I’m away,” Peter said.
