Breeding: SIRE: Sunview DAM: Shan’s Gift
Whelped: February 1958
Trainer: George Schofield
Owner: George Schofield
Breeder: Owen Henville
While a comparison of greyhounds in different eras may be difficult and somewhat subjective, the overall history of Victorian greyhound racing clearly places Shan’s View amid our all time great stud dogs.
The tale of Shan’s View’s arrival in Victoria is part of greyhound racing folklore.
Originally owned and trained in NSW by Owen Henville, when just 25 months of age and after only seven race starts (all in NSW), Shan’s View was ‘spied’ by GRV HoF inductee George Schofield after a dominant qualifying heat win in the 1960 Australian Cup (held by the MGRA at North Melbourne and run over 675 yards).
Remarkably, the Australian Cup wasn’t the only series Shan’s View was involved in at the time. He was also a leading contender for the rich Wentworth Park Gold Cup series in NSW. Thus, after racing on consecutive Saturdays in the Gold Cup heats (run over 580 yards), in between Shan’s View also raced in the heats, semis and final of the Australian Cup (675 yards) at North Melbourne on the Monday nights.
Enduring the then quite arduous road trips to and from NSW, Shan’s View won the Wentworth Park Gold Cup final and just two days later finished a luckless fifth to Meadow Vale (trained by fellow HoF inductee Peter Reid) in the Australian Cup final after running the fastest heat and semi-final times of that series.
George Schofield, then 41 and working as a bookmaker at the Arden Street racetrack, was among those who witnessed Shan’s View’s exciting performances. This turned out to be a life-changing moment.
Now 95, Schofield portrayed the tale… “I first spotted Shan’s View when he competed in a qualifying heat for the 1960 Australian Cup at North Melbourne. He ran the quickest of the qualies after missing the start by quite a bit.”
“I said to (the late) Ronny Nestor (then Schofield’s right hand man and now GRV HoF inductee) he’d make a great stud dog. I asked Ron to offer the trainer 1,500 pounds which Ron did, but the response was ‘which leg do you want?”
“However, we continued to negotiate and eventually he ended up selling him to me for 2,000 pounds, plus any money he might win in the Australian Cup final. In those days you could buy a house in Richmond for 800 pounds.”
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