A second chance at life and the holy grail
RUNNING in a Melbourne Cup is one thing, but saving an owner from the claws of cancer might be My Redeemer’s greatest legacy.
The star Lara greyhound will feature in tonight’s $630,000 Group 1 race, but for part-owner Kerry Dodds, My Redeemer has already proved a life changer.
Trainer David Geall said the former star pup was given his name by Dodds, who has since fought to survive pancreatic cancer.
“One of the part-owners of My Redeemer — Kerry Dodds — she had pancreatic cancer and she’s a bit crook now, but she’s fought it for three or four years,” Geall recalled.
“This dog, when he broke in very, very fast — he was one of the fastest they’ve ever had at Kevin McNamara breakers — she just felt he could be her redeemer.
“She finds the dogs give her a reason to keep going, because she had been very ill.
“As fate turns out, he has been and it’s given her a huge lift and she’s survived.
“That’s what greyhounds can do to you.”
The half-brother to retired champion Up Hill Jill has forged a racing career of his own and will be the second in the family to run in the Melbourne Cup for Geall in consecutive years.
“That’s the pinnacle of racing, it’s the biggest and it’s a free hit at it,” Geall said.
“We were fortunate to be in it last year with Up Hill Jill but to have a half-brother in it as well this year, it is (a thrill). We bred this guy and it’s a huge thrill to be in the biggest race.
“He won the Group 1 Harrison-Dawson, which is a big Group 1 race, but the Melbourne Cup is the biggest of all of them. There are no restrictions and it’s down to the fastest eight.
“It’s a really hot field; there are some champions in there, some up-and-coming superstars, so it’s just a red-hot race.”
Having banked 19 wins and $213,370 in prizemoney from 41 starts, the underrated sprinter will stamp his class if he can win tonight’s feature, where he jumps from the red.
“He does like box 1. He seems to stay on the fence better when he’s got box 1,” Geall said.
“When he won that other Group 1 from box 1, he did much the same; he railed beautifully.
“He hasn’t got as much pace as some of the others early but in saying that, last week he did show that — 5.06 is a very good split. If he can do that again, he’ll be a winning chance for sure.
“He can sit just off the lead, anything between 2-5 lengths and he’s got a big finish, so if he gets a clear run through the first corner, he’s always going to be a chance because he’s a very strong dog.”
Not only would he yet again prove a redeemer for Dodds if he won, but he would also provide Geall with his career highlight.
“It’ll just cap off the holy grail, so to speak,” he said.
“It’s the highest honour in greyhound racing, probably in the world, so if we can win it, it would be just sensational.
“We all want to win the Melbourne Cup and not many people do, so if we do win it, we won’t care if we’re not in another one — it won’t matter from then on.”