Tzouvelis covers all bases with feature race duo

By Isaac Murphy

It’s a case of the old and the new for Tommy Tzouvelis this week, and he has plenty of time for both runners.

Four-year-old She’s Some Gal gets a shot at glory in the Racing Queensland Masters Final on Thursday Night at Albion Park, while soon to be two-year-old Blue Day tackles a ripping Ipswich Young Guns field on Saturday.

Blue Day is giving up a good six months in age to some of his rivals in Saturday’s Young Guns Final, but the Cosmic Rumble pup has been fearless to date and Tzouvelis expects improvement of his half-length defeat to Cyclone Arrow.

“He’s only very young, he’s not even two-years-old yet and with the age limit set at thirty months he’s giving away a lot of experience, so he’s done a really good job to qualify,” Tzouvelis said.

“I was slightly disappointed with his run on Saturday night to be honest, his first and second sections were really good, but his run home was about two-and-a-half lengths slower than the fourth grade he won the week before.

“We think that’s because he’s putting a bit of weight on, he’s gone from around 31 kilos to 31.8 which can make a real difference.

“It’s probably just a young dog muscling up more, but we think we’ve got a handle on it this week.”

Tzouvelis bred the litter himself, but with a large number of pups on the ground he decided to offload them, but a slice of luck brought Blue Day back to the kennels.

“It’s really nice seeing what he’s done so far, we bred the Cosmic Rumble/Larsie Lou litter and I actually sold them all including him, until a last second change of heart brought him back to us,” he said.

“He’s turned out to be a terrific little race dog who looks like he’s got a more than decent future ahead of him.

“At this stage he’s probably a bit out of his grade against the likes of Oh Mickey and Federal Morgan on Saturday but the experience will do him the world of good.”

Group 1 winner Oh Mickey stamped his authority on the race by almost breaking the track record in the heats, and while Tzouvelis has him clearly on top, he’s done his homework and there’s not much between a lot of them early.

“I think it’s Oh Mickey’s race with the possible exception of Federal Morgan; their first and second sections were almost identical,” he said.

“Oh Mickey went 5.30 early and 13.04 down the back, Federal Morgan went 5.32 and 13.11 up the back; there’s only a nose between them to the first corner and a length-and-a-half to the back.

“Townson Beach and Marske both went 5.32 early as well and we were a fraction behind a 5.39, which I was still very pleased with.

“To answer the question can we win it yes, but we’re going to need a lot of luck.

“I think Federal Morgan is the only chance to beat Oh Mickey in a genuinely run race; Darren Johnstone has done a wonderful job with that dog and he’s gone to the next level since coming to Queensland.”

Tzouvelis always places emphasis on looking after his owners and has formed a successful partnership with the Got It All syndicate.

“I’m really happy to have him going well for the boys who own him, most notably they had Gatsby Road with me who won a Townsville Cup and have Lean Burn out of the Off And On litter at the moment as well, and have bought a Zambora Brockie/Larsie Lou pup,” he said.

“It’s important to reward your owners, they’ve been good to me and it’s nice to get some early results with this dog.”

Saturday’s assignment might be a bit stiff but Tzouvelis says Blue Day is well ahead of schedule and hoping he will bloom into some other serious dogs he’s trained.

“Being a Cosmic Rumble, they tend to mature a bit later so what he’s doing now is just a bonus,” he said.

“He’s very much in the mould of a Cooper Dooper and Maurice Minor who were the same breed and really blossomed at that later age, he’s got a similar racing pattern and is a dog in the same mould as his half-brothers.

“He’s got a couple of litter mates, one Sensational almost broke the track record up at Townsville the other weak and Darren Russell has Tough As Teak who absolutely flies up the straight at Capalaba - they look like a handy bunch.”

She’s Some Gal is the type of bitch every kennel would like to have; longevity with 104 starts and a fantastic money spinner with 17 wins and $79,000 in the bank, but despite her impressive heat win last week, Tzouvelis thinks she needs to lift again to win the Masters Final.

“I was rapt with her run, she’s over four-years-old now and she still came out and run 30.22 which was fantastic and she’s going to have to be good again because it’s got some real quality about it that Masters Final,” he said.

“Greg Stella’s bitch Regal Opal is really well graded; Georgie Mac for Darryl McGrath can fly, and you’ve got the old warrior Proper Gent.

“Normally She’s Some Gal has been able to pinch some Masters races at the start, but those three dogs are all as quick as her early, so we’re going to have to rely on a low draw and clean get away.”

Tzouvelis always has his eye on the calendar and was able to set the veteran for the race.

“We had this race in mind for her a long way out and have made sure she’s 100% ready to go, the timing has worked out nicely,” he said.

“There were probably three of four weeks there where she just had little niggling injuries that stopped us from working her during the week, but she’s come good now and that extra work has really helped her run out the race last week.”

The bitch is owned by Tzouvelis’ long-time friend and right-hand man Wayne Dunsmore, who’s shortly set to experience the breeding side of racing.

“She’s only adding to her brood bitch value and we think she’s going to be a really good producer as soon as she comes in season, she’s pink card registered and will be getting mated,” he said.

“Wayne, who owns her, has been such a good friend of the family for well over 20 years now and it’s great to see him really excited about her next chapter, but hopefully not before another win or two.”