Star Siblings To Uphold Sydney Cup Tradition

GOSFORD-based Michael Ivers is 73 years old and reckons it could be about time he scaled down his greyhound racing involvement.

Which is a bit of a statement considering on Friday night he will have full brothers Here's Tears and Tornado Tears (Fernando Bale-Tears Siam) running for him in the $100,000 to-the-winner Sydney Cup Final (720m) at Wentworth Park.

Tornado Tears (34 wins, $914,000) is from the first mating of Fernando Bale and Tears Siam.

Here's Tears (18 wins, $234,000) is from the second.

A third litter is just starting to race.

AND, back in July, Ivers whelped a fourth litter, six dogs and four bitches from Tears Siam, again by Fernando Bale.

Few could argue with Ivers' plan to repeat, repeat and repeat again such a successful cross.

Every one of those three litters has produced winners.

They have – so far – won 159 races and $1.87 million in stakes.

Interestingly, $1.4 million of that has been won in victories over 700m and further.

Ivers knows he cannot keep all those from the litters and says he has since sold $150,000 worth of dogs from all the litters.

“The interest in the bitches from the litters has been amazing,” he said.

He gave former group class staying bitch Tears Siam (Bekim Bale-Tonto Tears) 18 months off between her third and fourth litter.

“We wanted to give her plenty of time to recover from the first three litters, and wanted to make sure she delivered them without any trouble,” he said.

“That's why we decided on having a caesarean with her.”

Fernando Bale had a fan in Michael Ivers from the moment he started racing.

“I fell in love with him,” said Michael.

“It was his early pace and he was from a great litter.

“I had no qualms about using him unproven because you should always go to winners when striving to get winners yourself.”

Tears Siam was a Group finalist, multiple city winner, and litter sister to champion stayer Space Star which Robbie Britton still says is the fastest stayer he has trained.

Five generations into Tornado Tears and Here's Tears' pedigree is Trojan Tears, winner of the 1993 Sydney Cup for Ivers.

Ivers first ventured into greyhound racing decades ago after establishing a property at Lake Kurwongbah on the outskirts of Brisbane.

Even then was well aware of the differences in rearing among pups.

“We only rear three in one yard together,” he said.

“In one of our very first yards back in Queensland we had Trojan Tears, Tango Tears and Captain Standby.”

All three would be high class race dogs with Trojan Tears the superstar stayer of her time and greyhound of the year and future broodbitch star.

“Trojan Tears and Tango Tears, which were litter sisters, would charge around their paddock all the time,” said Michael.

“They would never stop galloping. But Captain Standby just sat in the paddock and watched them run.”

Captain Standby won the Vince Curry Maiden at Ipswich and became a successful sire.

Ivers has never been one to question the worth of repeat matings.

“We put bitches back to New Tears a number of times and it worked every time,” he said.

“And, what about the repeat matings we did to Flying Penske that all worked. We got good stock every time.”

Of Tears Siam, Michael says she is a very good mother that virtually refuses to leave her pups at whelping and for some time after.

He says Tears Siam is a very dominant individual.

“Her kennel name is Katie and we cannot have her with another bitch around the property,” he said.

Of Friday night's final, Ivers can see the perfectly boxed Here's Tears ideally boxed to lead and win. 

“But Sunset Bourbski will be very hard to beat,” he said.

While Michael admits his time in greyhound racing is scaling down, he still has Freaky Tears, a litter sister to Here's Tears, picked out as a future broodbitch.

“She's had a lot of injuries but she's my breeder for the future,” he said.

Which just about counters his previous statement that he is scaling down in greyhound racing.

While Here's Tears and Tornado Tears continue to dominate staying racing it is obvious Michael Ivers will be dominant in this industry for some time to come.