We’ve kicked off 2006 in the best possible fashion with a magnificent leading all the way win by Showground Larry on Saturday night. He drew the 8 box for the third consecutive week but this time he’d had enough of waiting for the right alley. He gave the rest of the field the “Up Yours Ugly” sign and barked, “See you dogs back in the kennels” as he exploded from the box and easily crossed to the lead. He sprinted away and when there looked to be a challenger on the home turn he just clicked up a gear and gave them no hope. It was Larry’s second win at Cannington and his third over all for the dockerland Syndicate.

It all began in March 2005 when the syndicate purchased two well credentialed chasers from the Brisbane Lion territory. Sheriff Austin and Showground Larry, brothers of the Bob’s One X Vividity litter. On the 7th of March 2005, under the expertise of the very astute Tommy Tzouvelis, the dockerland Racing Syndicate Members experienced greyhound racing for the first time and it was a blaze of glory. Now sure we failed to get a win on debut with either runner, but as Freo supporters, apart from landing the occasional coin toss, success hasn’t come around all that often. In saying that though, don’t underestimate the thrill of the coin falling your way. So anyway when your first venture into greyhound racing returns a second and a third on debut you suddenly turn into Mark “Jacko” Jackson and start doing handstands. Sheriff Austin went round and finished a bottler of a second placing coming from well back over the 600 metre distance. We thought how good is this! Not yet done with the celebrations over of the Sheriff, Showground Larry lined up in a 500 metre event and after getting knocked from pillar to post he got up and snatched 3rd on the line. You’d deadset thought we’d won the Perth Cup! How long had this been going on and why hadn’t some one told us?

The greyhounds are like the casino and any other form of betting. If you’re new to the game or the punt then unload on your very first bet. You’re a certainty to clean up. The industry has a knack for getting debut punters a winner. There’s nothing surer. From that point on in time you’re hooked. The racing industry gets in your blood and it never leaves.

So with the success on debut the syndicate members revved up and got the greyhound bug. Sure it was a buzz seeing the dogs run around on the tab screen but we wanted to see them in the flesh. We wanted to get out to the dog track and get the whole box and dice experience. So plans were made to bring Sheriff Austin to Perth. The Sheriff made his way to WA to take up residence in the top line Linda Britton kennels while Showground Larry remained in Brisbane with Tommy T.

It wasn’t long before true success was had by the dockerland Syndicate because in just his second start in the west, Sheriff jumped from the horrific box eight but covered the field easily and bolted away to give the dockerland members their first taste of a win. We thought running a second and a third was something to write home about. Well I can tell you landing a win was something else. dockerland members were going mental, even though for many of us we didn’t have to go too far to go there. The place erupted and celebrations rang out. I hadn’t seen that many cart wheels since Paint Your Wagon. I don’t want to get carried away here but the celebrations were that good I’m tipping around about now, being December / January and about 9 months since Sheriff’s win, there could well be a few little dockerland syndicate members being born.

Sheriff’s win came over a month after his dockerland debut in Brisbane and during that time, Showground Larry had performed sensationally knocking up three very nice second placings. His form then tapered off for a month due to several niggling and annoying injuries.

Sheriff Austin stepped up to the favourable 642 metre distance and was looking like going on with his winning ways. He jumped into 2nd spot in running early and to be honest we thought put the glasses down the race is all over. Sheriff by how far. But something was amiss. Sheriff started fading. This wasn’t his caper. He drifted back to 5th and it was seemingly very disappointing. Tragedy had struck as he pulled up with an injury. But being taken care of by the best in the business, Linda Britton and Chris Halse, it was just a two week stint on the sidelines and back to business. The business the Sheriff got back to was, still to this day, unbelievable. He lined up from the six box back over the 530 metres. On the first turn there was absolute carnage. Sheriff copped the best of it and it put him out of the race and calculations – Or did it? He was a thousand lengths off the lead going down the back straight. Binoculars weren’t strong enough to get him in view. You needed the Hubble telescope! Somehow he managed to get within about ten lengths of them on the home turn and you thought, “Christ this is a decent run. If only he didn’t cop the trouble on the first turn he would have gone close to winning it.” In the blink of an eye and before you finished with the “unlucky in running” thought, Sheriff was on them and right on the post he had his nose in front. It was just an amazing spectacle and has turned out to be a very special moment for the dockerland Members. Regularly we get the DVD of his race out and watch it. Still to this day we have no idea how he did it. He was impossible even on the home turn. He was a million to one and you were getting unders. Yet the big Sheriff did it. He gave us all a moment and a memory we will never forget.

The fickle nature of greyhound racing came home to roost over the next two runs. I’m a believer in, “If everything is going well then you’ve obviously overlooked something or the heat is around the corner.” Well the heat was around the corner because Sheriff Austin broke down just two starts later in what was a tragic moment for the syndicate. Linda has been working on him since and almost got him back to racing. He got as close as lining up in a race but broke down again just two days before race day and had to be scratched. Another attempt was made two months later but frustratingly the injury flared again. We’re having one more attempt at getting the big bloke back. After x-rays and subsequent surgery the Sheriff is doing well. He has to have three months off from doing anything so he will at least be away from the track until the end of January into early February. So fingers crossed he makes it back to racing and can give us just one more moment. If he fails to make it then in what he did has been more than enough and we’ve been lucky to be involved in that one huge win.

Again while this was all going on, Showground Larry, returned from some average form. Tommy T decided a change of tracks may switch him on and Terrific Tommy T was too right. He lined up in a race at the Gold Coast and brought up his debut win for the dockerland Syndicate giving the field a start and a belting by over 5 lengths. After that win, Larry’s form tapered off again. It was then we thought a change of state may be the recipe for the resurrection. Showground Larry joined his brother in WA but moved into Peter and Helen Sayer’s very swish property. After a well earned rest Larry was refreshed and ready to hit the Cannington circuit. It didn’t take long for him to find his feet as he ran a belter of a second in just his second run in the west. Five starts later Larry hit a purple patch of form picking up two seconds and then came the big one. On the 26th November the Showground jumped from the three box, went straight to the front and held on to win by the narrowest of margins, which officially was an ant’s knacker. One more bound and the Wayne Beamish trained Underworld Jet would have nutted Larry. It was nice work by the dockerland Members who in the midnight hour the night before, snuck out to Cannington and brought the winning post forward 5 metres.

So with Sheriff Austin and Showground Larry both returning stake money the dockerland Syndicate decided to purchase their sister, Vivify, who became available. So after sealing the deal she was transferred and entered the kennels of Trevor “T-Rad” Radford. Trevor did a magnificent job with her managing four cheques from her first six starts for dockerland. Unfortunately Trev is getting out of dogs so Dean Starkie has come to the rescue and has taken her on for us. He is giving her a couple of weeks off to freshen up and will have her fighting fit to go on return. She returns Tuesday 17th January at Mandurah.

The dockerland Syndicate members were part of the big the night at Cannington in the inaugural Western Shootout. Peter O’Neil, on his greyhound gossip program, came up with the idea of running a race for charity which would see a match race between a Dockers representative greyhound and one for the Eagles. dockerland was all for it and we got the ball rolling. Given Sheriff Austin was sidelined and Showground Larry was in Queensland at the time, a dog by the name of Gun Smoke was brought in to race for dockerland, representing the Dockers. Tim Gossage’s Western Front was booked to run for the Eagles. Gun Smoke did dockerland and all Docker fans proud in making short work of the Might Mae, Western Front. Gun Smoke took Western Shootout One by the length of the straight. It was a very special night which raised almost $20,000 for charity and it’s a night where most of the credit has to go to Peter O’Neil for coming up with the concept and getting behind it. The whole night and the massive build up to it was a fantastic opportunity for the dockerland members to be a part of and it will go down as another moment in the syndicate’s history as one that will not be forgotten. We’ll be there in 2006 to defend our Docker title.

So all in all it’s been quite the successful debut year for the dockerland Syndicate. We have had an absolute ball and from a minimal initial outlay the members have amassed over $12K in stakes. Given the injury problems to Sheriff Austin and Showground Larry that we have endured, it’s been a magnificent effort. We managed twenty nine races from Showground Larry for 2005, six starts from Vivify and just the seven from Sheriff Austin. From a grand total of 42 syndicate races the dogs collected dockerland 22 cheques. It’s safe to say if Sheriff Austin had of stayed fit and healthy then we’d all be Neville Bartos’, we’d be effin flying. We’ve kicked off 2006 on a high so we can only hope the rest of the year proceeds in a similar fashion.