TIME BLUEY TAKING ONE STEP AT A
A LATE starter to greyhound racing, Alan Hunter, 75, has wasted no time climbing the stairs to the top of the sport.
The Blind Bight trainer is managing director of Mount Waverley-based family business Staircom, which is Victoria’s largest staircase manufacturer.
“I bought a couple of pups around 15 years ago and, as they say, the rest is history,” Hunter said.
A former top junior tennis player, Hunter at one stage came under the tutelage of the iconic Harry Hopman, a captain-coach of 22 Australian Davis Cup teams between 1938 and 1967.
He also recalls having “a couple of practice sets” with legendary 24-time singles grand slam winner Margaret Court on the hallowed grass of Kooyong in the 1960s.
But these days he is serving an ace of his own with a May 2018 Fernando Bale and Naughty Cazza litter.
Hunter says the litter of six are all city class and one of them is Fernando Bluey, who will contest the $5000-to-thewinner Cannonball Sprint final (400m), Race 5 at 8.28pm at Geelong tonight.
A winner of three races from only six starts, Fernando Bluey registered the fastest heat time of 22.60 sec.
“There’ll be no margin for error from box four in the final, but I still think he’s a good each-way chance,” Hunter said.
Hunter says Fernando Bluey is “probably stronger in the run home than the rest of the field”.
“He’s a mad railer and if he leads the field early, he’ll win,” he said.
However, Hunter is concerned about Mighty Max Gone in box one: “If he does everything right and gets out in front, then they won’t catch him,” he warned.