National Draft Graduate To Debut At Geelong

GEORGE Farrugia admits to being as nervous as he is excited in the lead up to Wallbanger’s debut in Friday's Vic Breeders at Geelong.

GEORGE Farrugia admits to being as nervous as he is excited in the lead up to Wallbanger's much anticipated racetrack debut in Friday night's GRV Vic Breeders Maiden heats (400m) at Geelong.

Wallbanger, a stylishly bred son of Black Magic Opal and Absolute Stunna, is the first of the stock to race from the 2018 inaugural National Greyhound Draft, the syndication platform developed to provide first time owners a seamless entry into greyhound ownership.

The brainchild of the always progressive Sandown Greyhound Racing Club, ten teams were formed for the inaugural draft where captains then selected from 30 well-bred commodities.

And with the first of the Draft graduates set to strut their stuff this Friday, it goes without saying that Farrugia is hopeful of a winning start with the highly touted youngster.

"The dog is showing good ability so fingers crossed we kick off on the right note for his owners on Friday," said National Draft manager George Farrugia on Wednesday.

Trained by Angela Langton, Wallbanger – from the dam who brought us Blazin' Bomber, Bells Are Ringin' and Ring The Bell – will take his place in the second event on Friday night over the 400 metres from box two, the regally bred type trialling well by all reports for his debut performance.

"He trialled 25.70 odd over the 460 metres and I know Angela is really happy where he's at for Friday – he's Victorian city class," added Farrugia.

"This pup is from Team (Peter) Cameron in WA … there's around 100 owners involved with his team. They include West Coast Eagles player Brad Sheppard and Australian cricketer Mitch Marsh so there's a bit of star-power there as well."

And while Farrugia is hopeful Wallbanger can kick things off in the best possible fashion on Friday, another Draft graduate is expected to line-up on Sunday at Sandown, a bitch called Slight Of Hand for Team Britton, captained by champion trainer Rob Britton.

"She's not showing as much ability as the dog on Friday but the beauty about this concept is that with a few pups to each team we're increasing the chances of getting something handy evened out," explained Farrugia.

"The key objective of the way we formed the Draft was to open up doors for new people to get involved in the industry … and with very well bred greyhounds they otherwise couldn't afford to.

"Like anything there's never any promises but we've reduced the variables as much as possible with rearing and education, giving all the pups every opportunity to succeed."

With the countdown on to this year's National Greyhound Draft, Farrugia reports that another group of quality bred youngsters will be up for grabs, including a half-brother to dual group 1 winner Sennachie.

"We've got a Rhonda Rocks pup there by Barcia Bale and some other equally well bred lots," enthused Farrugia.

"The path we've gone down is to bring people into the industry with a fully transparent approach.

"We've gone warts and all with the information we provide to owners which is the only way to be. That way they can ride the highs and the lows together."

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