Gosper glad he stuck at it
WHEN Arthur Gosper’s late partner Emma Bryant passed away in the middle of 2020, the thought crossed his mind to walk away from the greyhound game.
The Gosper and Bryant partnership had been mainstays of the industry in North Queensland for decades, winning races and premierships for fun at Townsville and Cairns.
And, while they were also formidable on the track, the duo were just as instrumental behind the scenes as administrators, working long hours behind the scenes to keep the club in Cairns afloat before they eventually closed the doors in 2018.
Emma was always the face of the operation, with her beloved partner Arthur doing his bit behind the scenes.
Emma’s passing was not a shock as she had battled cancer for some time but for Arthur, it was still a devastating blow.
The duo had lived and breathed greyhound racing, with Emma first getting involved in the early 1980s.
And, with Emma gone, Arthur pondered if it was time for him to pull up stumps driving the 10 or more hour round trip to Townsville to race his chasers every week.
Looking back on the decision, the industry stalwart is glad he stuck with his dogs, including the in-form What A Bomber.
At this stage Arthur is racing just one greyhound – What A Bomber – and while the kennel is not a big one in terms of numbers, the black dog is making up for it himself. The son of Blazin’ Bomber has won five on the trot at Townsville Showgrounds.
“I did cross my mind to stop with the dog’s when Emma did pass away,” Gosper said on Monday afternoon from his Atherton home.
“But, I worked it out that you are better off having something on your mind than just moping around.
“Emma would be proud of the way this dog has been going and when she was alive, we worked so well together training the dogs.”
While the track at Cairns’ Cannon Park has stopped hosting race meetings in recent years, that has not stopped the interest in the code north of Townsville.
There are still many owners of greyhound’s in FNQ, as well as a few who kept a training licence, including Gosper, who lives in Atherton.
At the Bryant-gosper kennels height, they would race up to 15 dogs at race meetings in North Queensland.
These days, Arthur races just What A Bomber.
He got the dog – among others from the litter – from a friend in NSW.
He had his kennel star’s litter sister – Maybe Baby – also racing until May of last year before she had to retire from the track through injury.
The black bitch won four from 13 career starts and Arthur says she was faster than his current winning machine.
“I have still got her here with me and I am just debating about if I breed with her or not,” he said.
What A Bomber has been the star of the Blazin’ Bomber and Señorita Dolly litter, winning more races than all of his five siblings combined that made it to the track.
There is a handful of FNQbased trainers who still travel their dogs to Townsville to race. For Arthur, who is 79 years of age, it is a lengthy journey from his Atherton Tablelands home to the Townsville Showgrounds.
He will leave at 10am on a Tuesday morning for the races that evening – stopping off in towns such as Cardwell – before buying equipment and feed for his dogs in Townsville before heading to the track.
Despite his winning run – he has claimed victory in eight of his last 10 starts – What A Bomber rarely jumps from the inside alley.
Of all the boxes he can draw, What A Bomber has not jumped out of one since June of last year, in a race he won in.