As a race caller, I probably shouldn’t have favourites, but there’s a greyhound that has always been special to me.

Trickity Click is a Healesville specialist, trained by Billy Galea at Rockbank. I’m not sure if it’s Trickity Click’s propensity to rapidly veer to the outside of the Yarra Valley short course at box rise, which can at times present a degree of mayhem, or his endearing nature and sweet little face that appeals to me more.

Maybe it’s Trickity Click’s large puppy dog eyes that goaded me into finding out more about this quirky straight-track maestro that originally raced on the Apple Isle, but I’ve always watched his races with great fascination.

TRICKITY CLICK

Breeding: Decembrist x Scorching Lilly
Whelped: 25/12/2018
Trainer: Bill Galea, Rockbank
Raced by: Carissa Fahey
Bred by: Nicholas Howard

104 Starts: 25-11-14
Healesville 300m PB: 16.37 seconds
Healesville 350m PB: 18.99 seconds

My intrigue with the son of Decembrist has never waned, if anything, it probably only increased as his racing career continued into ‘veteran’ status. At race start 103 at Healesville late last year, drawn unsuitably and unwanted in betting, Trickity Click delighted his connections (and me) with a very cheeky third place.

Amongst a field of greyhounds that are two to three years his junior and armed with serious speed, little Trickity Click, or ‘Spinner’, as he is known about the Galea kennel, gave everyone a run for their money at 50-1 in a 300m Free-For-All.

For a greyhound whelped on Christmas day, you would think that Christmas Eve may present a ‘lucky break.’ However, from an ideal outside draw, on December 24 last year, at race start 104, little Trickity Click had managed to work himself up ahead of the race. So much so that according to Galea, ‘Spinner’ had destroyed his bed the night before with excitement, a telltale sign that the Christmas day greyhound was a little worked-up going into what looked like a very suitable event.

But, as the race panned out, not long after a ‘flying start,’ all it took was one unlucky bump to sideline Trickity Click until the beginning of April this year.

Eagerly awaiting Trickity Click’s return to the racetrack, I knew from previous discussions with Billy and his brother Tony Galea that if their greyhound is right to continue racing, he will, and if he is not, retirement awaits. The Galeas’ staunch stance on their racing greyhounds’ welfare is not negotiable.

LISTEN: RSN race caller Victoria Shaw caught up with Rockbank trainer Billy Galea following the retirement of his adored greyhound Trickity Click.

For the straight track specialist, ninety-four races have been under Galea’s guidance and care. And of this veteran greyhound’s twenty-five career victories, twenty-three of those wins can be accredited to the Rockbank kennel.

But late last week, I received a call from Billy Galea that delivered the news that I had hoped would not happen – Trickity Click’s racing career was over. After much remedial therapy and pre-race trials, Galea conceded defeat on Trickity Click’s career. No longer could he run the times that he used to.

So on Saturday I drove out to Rockbank to say farewell to my little mate. I knew that Tony Galea’s daughter, Renae, had already asked her Uncle Billy to take on Trickity Click as a pet. From a previous discussion with Renae, I needed no convincing that she would provide Trickity Click with a wonderful “fur-ever” life.

After 104 race starts, delivering Tasmanian-based owner Carissa Fahey with 25 victories and 25 placings, a long-standing successful association with Billy Galea’s kennel, Tony Galea, his wife Mary and daughter Renae; as well as yours truly and punters, with a few anxious moments that frequently transpired into victorious delight.

Thank you, Trickity Click, for providing so many people with the same joy you derived from racing. The thrill of the chase!