“My uncle’s trained greyhounds for most of his life, my grandfather’s had them as well, so I thought I’d give it a go, it’s something different.”
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This is how promising Young greyhound trainer Brad Ashton, 26, got involved in the greyhound racing industry which he has showed immense potential in over the past two years.
Ashton’s most recent achievement is having two dogs qualify in Wagga’s biggest race night of the year, the Wagga Cup, to be held tonight at the Wagga Showground.
The Ashton-trained Black Kuyrem - owned by Chris Edwards - qualified for the Race 1 $2000 Wagga Maiden Final Maiden Series F. Meanwhile Bambi’s Revenge - owned and trained by Ashton - will race in the Race 2 Shamrock Hotel Temora/Wagga Final.
Ashton has high hopes for the pair who have recorded promising qualifying times.
“I think they’ll be very competitive,” Ashton said.
“Bambi won her heat over at Temora on April 2 in good time and came from behind to win.
“Black’s run at Canberra on Sunday was awful and we’re hoping he can bounce back at Wagga.
“His first run at Wagga [on April 8] was very encouraging, his trials have been very quick but he’s failed to realise his ability.
“We’ve had to work pretty hard on him this week to get him right after a set-back at Canberra last week, but they’re both very good chances.”
According to Edwards - who is also a close friend of Ashton - it’s a huge achievement for the young trainer to have two dogs qualify for the night.
“He’s only a young bloke, he’s only been training for two years and for someone with a very small amount of dogs, to get two into a final night, in Wagga’s biggest night, is a wonderful achievement,” Edwards said.
“Myself and Brad have formed quite a strong friendship and it got to the stage where I was sick of him having bad dogs, so I offered him one and one turned into several,” he laughed. “And I’m really proud of the amount of achievements he’s gained in a short arount of time.”
“The sky's the limit for the young bloke.”
Ashton will also travel to Temora on Saturday with another of Edwards’ dogs, Beegumbah Burst - for his chance to qualify for the Bulli finals.
It’s an exciting weekend for the enthusiastic trainer who enjoys the rewarding side of the career.
“It’s a hard thing when you’re racing against eight other people doing the same thing to get their dogs in front,” Ashton said.
“Most of the dogs I’ve taken before have been giveaways, and getting them to win...I find that exciting.
“I can take a dog that someone doesn’t want and get it back to the right shape to be good enough to compete.
“Every dog has a win in it, you’ve just got to get it out of them.”