Chairman's ‘Double' For Zammit

GLEN Dearlove remembers 44 years ago heading out to the Zammit trial track at Deception Bay, north of Brisbane, to gallop the dogs he was training.

The track was run by Tony Zammit and his brother George. Working the catching pen gate in those days was the Zammit's kid brother Mick.

Last Thursday night at Albion Park, Mick Zammit and his wife Selena, teamed up with Glen Dearlove to land the Chairman's Cup (710m) with exciting young staying find Double Gee.

The son of Dyna Double One-Hot Spur barged his way into contention on the home turn then ran down leader Champagne Sally to win by three-quarters of a length in 41.77 with a half length to Jalapeno in third.

And, to top off all that, It was “Group 1” Mick Zammit's 54th birthday.
Glen shares ownership of Double Gee with his long-time mate Gavin Scott.
They bred the dog from their former smart staying bitch Hot Spur who has become a Group-class producer.

And Glen gave wife Penny all the credit for picking out Double Gee (named after his two owners) as a pup.

“We only ever keep two out of each litter we breed,” said Glen.

“Penny gets to pick the ones we keep.

"­She just took a liking to this bloke as a three-month-old pup.”

Three starts back, Double Gee broke the Casino track record then followed that with a debut 710m victory at Albion Park in a scorching 41.63.

The Chairman's Cup victory was a huge thrill for Dearlove who admitted the past few years in greyhound racing have been testing for he and Gavin Scott.

“John Thompson has been our long-term advisor and friend in this industry,” said Glen.

“He got caught up in all the problems within the industry back in 2015 and for nine months we were unable to race any of our dogs. Thommo is getting his trainer's license back and that is wonderful for him.

“When it came to finding a trainer for this dog, Thommo said we just had to seek out Mick and Selena Zammit.

“He got no objections from us. And, here we are.”

With Mick celebrating his 54th birthday, it was left to beaten trainer Ray Burman to have the last laugh.

“I said to Sally (runner-up Champagne Sally) before the race that she should let Double Gee beat her if she could to help Mick celebrate his birthday,” said Ray.

And, no one believed that either.