O'Donnell Buttering Up For More

ROOKIE owner Ayden O'Donnell, who bought last Wednesday's  sizzling Wentworth Park 720m winner Big Butters as a pup for only $1800, is now “hooked” on the sport and has six youngsters being educated.

Trained by Andrew Crouch and his son Adam, a close friend of O'Donnell's, Big Butters led throughout to win a heat of the Ladbrokes Back Yourself Challenge by five lengths in 42.29sec.
That was only .19sec slower than the fastest WP 720m time of 2018, posted by Simon Keeping on March 31.
And Big Butters' figures compared well with the trio of scorching wins posted by the Michael Eberand-trained Ebby Ripper, who won in 42.23sec in March and in 42.15 and 42.21 in April.
Unfortunately for the Crouch family and first-time owner O'Donnell, Big Butters won't be contesting the $20,000 to the winner final of the Ladbrokes Back Yourself Challenge at WP.
“We always intended aiming her for that race but after a seasonal spell Big Butters had a succession of minor but niggling injuries which kept her out of the Challenge heats,” Adam Crouch said.
“We were about to put her in the recent Bathurst 700m heat but she again pulled up sore so we had to scrap that plan too.
“It's a pity because she has been going really well.
“When she finished fourth in a 630m race at Nowra on May 14 she was pushed into the running rail by a much bigger greyhound.
“Then in a 618m race at Richmond on May 23, she finished second with the winner running 35.31sec, and Big Butters was flying home at the finish.
“Before tonight's race we gave her a 600 metre slip at Wentworth Park and she went very fast.
“Although circumstances have caused Big Butters to miss out on some good races we are not afraid to travel and will almost certainly head to Melbourne with her in the near future.
“She is a terrific greyhound to train because boxes don't matter much to her as she usually jumps out quickly and shows good early pace.”