A hobby trainer’s rise to the world’s richest greyhound race

Jihad Talgi would stop making pizzas in a heartbeat if he could afford to train greyhounds full-time, and that dream might just be realised if Schillaci – one of only two greyhounds he trains – can take out the $1.65 million Phoenix for slot holder Ladbrokes on Saturday 16 December at The Meadows.

Here’s a story on Jihad’s climb to a shot at the bigtime through the eyes of his number one fan, daughter Sarah…

WATCH: Jihad Talgi discusses Schillaci’s chances at The Phoenix Box Draw.

In the words of Sarah Talgi

“Growing up, dad was passionate about two things – the Collingwood Football Club and greyhound racing.

He’s always had big dreams and even greater ambitions.

Jihad Talgi in his early days in greyhound racing.

And as a Lebanese immigrant, migrating to Australia in the 70s, the world was his oyster.

He took to greyhounds 22 years ago when a friend introduced him to the sport.

From the meticulous training regimes, diets and very look of the dogs, dad fell in love and wanted to make it part of his everyday life.

We started off with a dog named Culver City (Chopper); then there was Sarah Lindsay (Chantelle). And my personal favourite; Paige who never made it to the track, but became my beloved first greyhound.

By the year 2006, I was nine years old and we set sail from suburbia and into a quiet semi-rural town called Devon Meadows so dad could really put work into a longtime dream of his.

And on that 1.3 acre lot of land was where the real work began.

He put so much time into creating the perfect set up for his dogs to thrive.

That’s when I knew dad was serious too; he was willing to change our entire lives for a shot at greatness, and we backed him in.

My parents reached an agreement; my dad does the day shift with the dogs and mum does the night shift. Once I was old enough, I’d help out in all the ways I could, especially when mum was pregnant and dad went off to race.

Still to this day, that agreement hasn’t changed.

The transition was an interesting one.

Our greyhounds became the centre of my parents’ universe.

I never took an interest in the racing side, but I did fall in love with the docile, couch potato nature of the greyhound breed and so did my siblings.

We loved having a delivery of new puppies to play with throughout our childhood.

Our family had a few good dogs over the years, but nothing great.

A young Sarah Talgi with a greyhound pup.

Watching my dad put in all the work with little reward was hard to watch, but regardless, he continued to persevere because he knew he was cut out for it.

I’ve always told him “success is at the tip of your tongue and you’ll taste it when you least expect it.”

And that drive for success is why he put in so much time and money into something that could’ve very easily failed, such as 10-hour drives to and from Shepparton in a single day.

Waking up at 6am every day and spending all day with the dogs.

“Watching my dad put in all the work with little reward was hard to watch”

He spends his days attending to their every need.

Then he spends his nights at his business, Uncle Drews Pizza in Carrum Downs and getting home at 12am every night.

Jihad Talgi with Schillaci. 

He has one day off a week, but that time off usually isn’t for rest, it’s used for taking a dog to a race.

The one thing about dad is that he never slows down, no matter how many times we tell him to.

It’s also why he was so adamant on going to Adelaide with our current race dog, Schillaci (he won the Group 3 SA Derby in September and was a finalist in the Adelaide Cup).

Dad knew there was something special about him when he first trialled at Ballarat out of the puppy boxes earlier this year (he ran a blistering 17.72 seconds).

And it wasn’t just him that saw it – Schillaci garnered the attention of everyone.

Dad turned down a $100,000 offer for the dog before he had even raced.

The family and I thought he was crazy, but dad knew he had something special, a dog that would hopefully change the trajectory of this full time hobby of his.

And he was right; Schillaci won his debut race at Warragul on 19 February this year in a time of 25.58 seconds and that sure got people talking.

Jihad Talgi in the early years at his Devon Meadows property.

It’s been 10 months since his debut and out of 18 starts, Schillaci has won 10 of them.

Naturally, there have been some hiccups along the way with Schillaci sustaining an injury that put him out of action for 3 months so he could heal.

We’re all ecstatic by the success of this special dog and we’re all particularly proud of dad for his perseverance, determination and sheer dedication to a hobby that could become a bold new career move.

Success, no matter how sweet it tastes, is never an easy road to get to.

Victory in the $1 million to-the-winner Phoenix would make dad’s wildest dreams come true.

Jihad’s career as a pizza chef could soon be over is Schillaci wins The Phoenix.

Schillaci with Sarah Talgi and younger brother Jaxson, 12. 📷 Clint Anderson

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