Smokin' Wits' Stylish Vince Curry Debut

FOLLOWING the recent Group 1 winning heroics of Oh Mickey, it was of little surprise that Smokin' Wits contested his Vince Curry heat at Ipswich on Saturday night amid much hype and fanfare.

A late call up as a reserve in the National Derby at Wentworth Park last month, Oh Mickey claimed the $75,000 to-the-winner final for NSW trainer Troy Donaldson and owner Clint Kratzmann.

Kratzmann also bred and owns Smokin' Wits, a litter brother to Oh Mickey, who goes around in Saturday night's Vince Curry semi-finals following his stylish 30.62 heat debut at the weekend.

"I don't like to take too many on at one time, so I decided to keep Oh Mickey and train him myself and give Smokin' Wits to Darren Russell to train," Kratzmann informed.

"I've always had a huge deal of respect for Darren's (Russell) training prowess. I've watched him go about his work over the years and he always has his greyhounds primed for the big night. That's no accident, they're trained to the minute."

Russell's precision-like training was on full show on Saturday night when Smokin' Wits overcame box eight to win his Vince Curry heat.

"I've watched the Vince Curry series from afar for 20 years but in the five years I've been back in the sport I'd say this is the strongest crop of young talent I've seen," he said.

"I'm of the opinion you'll see at least 10 really god pups kick onto bigger things in the next few months from this series. People coming up from down south for our age races are going to have their work cut out.

"It would be a dream come true to win the Vince Curry especially in a tough year like this."

Oh Mickey's National Derby heroics has set the bar for his remaining siblings with Kratzmann quick to point out the similarities.

"It was a massive win on Saturday night," Kratzmann said of Smokin' Wits.

"Kerry Hoggan's dog Canya Kick is a nice pup and they went at each other right until that final sectional marker where my bloke dug in and showed his class in the run home.

"Credit to Darren (Russell) he had him trained to perfection with a couple of five hundred trials at Ipswich and again his timing was spot on, the trials were all about speed whereas he improved lengths to run 11.88 home.

"It's a big call after one run but I definitely put him right there with Oh Mickey who obviously has the runs on the board, but from what I saw Saturday night I think he can be just as good."

Kratzmann is just as much invested in his breeding as training and couldn't be prouder of what his brood bitch Iona Champion and Fernando Bale have produced.

"It's good to have a dog with talent, but what you really want is one with talent and a bit of grit and Smokin' Wits showed that on Saturday night – it's a credit to the breed," he said.

"For me his want to chase sets him apart and it's no fluke, his mother Iona Champion has it and Oh Mickey has it, they're an incredibly reliable line.

"To race the mother as a Free For All Albion Park bitch and to see her pass on her traits is something I'm very proud of."