DOG’S LIFE IS A REAL WINNER
Jockeys get taste of new race thrills
RACING: Nathan Evans is well known as one of Toowoomba’s most gifted jockeys.
But there is another string to Evans’ racing bow many punters may not know of and one that is giving him some of his biggest race-track thrills.
After venturing into greyhound ownership several years ago, Evans has taken the next step into dog training and the winning results are now starting to justify his new hobby choice.
Last Wednesday night talented bitch Femme Folle presented him with his first Albion Park win with a smart performance at Queensland’s greyhound racing headquarters.
Sharing in the victory was Evans’ fellow Toowoomba jockey Emma Ljung who first suggested the pair buy themselves a greyhound as an interest outside the hustle and bustle of their own busy riding careers.
Their plunge into the greyhound world — in the true tradition of racing’s ups and downs — had a shaky beginning.
But the thrills soon followed. “It was about three years ago,” Evans recalled.
“Emma was out injured with a broken collarbone and while she was laid up she watched a few greyhound races and came up with idea we could buy ourselves a dog to race as a bit of an interest.
“We finished up buying a tried dog for a bit of money called Good Odds Rick which Tom Tzouvelis trained for us.
“But he went amiss after a couple of starts.
“We then raced a bitch with Bubba Tilley called Ironbar Jill, trained by Ash Sommerfield.
“She won her first three races and 13 all up including a Capalaba Futurity. She also made a Futurity final at Albion Park.”
Evans by then was well and truly bitten by the greyhound racing bug, and after applying for his training license and enduring a 12-month wait to be approved he now believes he is the only dual-licensed jockey and greyhound trainer in Queensland.
Several colleagues of Evans and Ljung are now following their lead into dog ownership.
Toowoomba apprentices Baylee Nothdurft and Nick Keal race dogs with Evans who is also fielding interest from several Brisbane jockeys keen to become involved.
Evans next greyhound goal is to race Femme Folle at Sydney’s Wentworth Park and grow his team while keeping it at manageable numbers.
“For me to win a race with Femme Folle after Tom trained her originally means a lot to me,” Evans said.
“I didn’t know anything about greyhounds when I first became involved with them.
“Tom has been a great help along the way.
“Nick is lending me a hand with the dogs now as well.
“I like to mix a few horse racing methods into my dog training and hopefully there’s some useful ideas there.
“I’m interested in growing the training a bit more from here. But I wouldn’t want to get too many to handle because I’d like to pay a certain amount of attention to each one.
“Greyhound racing has really turned into a great way of relaxing for us away from riding.
“It’s good fun. They’re lovely animals.”