Fuller finds the key to Spring Chatter

By Isaac Murphy

Tricia Fuller puts her blood, sweat and tears into the greyhound industry as a key figure at both the Capalaba and Ipswich clubs.

With her knowledge of the caper, Fuller always tries to keep a couple of greyhounds in work and is finally reaping the rewards with Spring Chatter, with the bitch in career-best form well on her way to her fourth birthday.

“She’s had her fair share of niggles through her career, but I’ve never thought of retiring her; she’s a beautiful kennel dog and is a sister (Thirty Talks/Spring Dream) to Mrs. Sing who was racing well while she was out,” Fuller said.

“I always thought if I could get her to the track for an extended period of time, she could put together a run of good form like she has the last couple of months - better late than never.

“Mrs. Sing has got a bad toe and I’m not sure if she’ll get back to the track or not, so it’s been great Spring Chatter’s been able to get healthy and give me a race bitch to train.”

The bitch has put a pair of Monday night wins together recently, paving the way for her Thursday Night Masters debut a fortnight ago where she’s been knocking on the door.

“The Masters 500-metre races have been a godsend; she’s yet to win one but if she keeps running around that 30.22 mark it’s only a matter of time,” she said.

“I don’t think she’ll ever go much quicker than that, if she wins a couple in a row she goes up in grade but she’ll find herself back where she belongs pretty quickly.

“The prize money running second on a Thursday night is phenomenal, I’ve been tickled pink with what she’s done and I don’t see any reason she’ll drop her level at all.”

Fuller is hoping it’s third time lucky this week with Spring Chatter jumping from box six in race three, but it’s not going to be straightforward with a couple of handy ones set to test her early.

“Thursday night will be a tough for her, she’s awkwardly drawn in the six with Certification and Mitchell John outside her who have all the speed,” she said.

“If she can let them go early and hop on the back of them, she’s got every chance of running them down, but we do run the risk of getting squeezed at the start.

“If she can get her way around the first turn in one piece, I think she’s a huge chance, there’s no-one else in that field that really scares you - hopefully she keeps her confidence high.”

Most chasers have their best behind them at Spring Chatter’s age, but Fuller is enjoying seeing her flourish in the twilight years.

“I’m noticing improvement in her racing even as a three-and-a-half-year-old, she used to be extremely shy in a field if she was pressured, she’d usually drop back but I’ve seen a real change,” she said.

“She got squeezed up last start jumping out of the two and was able to keep pushing through to land mid-field the fence where she charged home for second.

“It’s interesting the contrast between her and Mrs. Sing; she doesn’t mind finding her way through a field whereas her sister had that blistering early pace and needed to lead to win - she’s a bit more flexible.”

Spring Chatter hasn’t been the easiest bitch to place but she finally seems to have found her right grade.

“I tried her over the 600 metres last preparation, and she was running out the trip no problem but for some reason she just wasn’t jumping,” Fuller said.

“I brought her back and won a race over the 500 on a Monday night in a small field and that seemed to really benefit her.

“It’s been since that run she’s finished no worse than fourth and is running a much more professional race, giving herself a chance at the start and having that middle-distance strength on the run home.”

Mrs. Sing has been the pick of the sisters over the journey, a winner of 13 races, she’s gone as quick as 29.8 on a Thursday night and now that Spring Chatter has found her groove, Fuller couldn’t be happier.

“I’ve been blessed having Spring Chatter and Mrs. Sing, for a hobby trainer that has two in work that are both Thursday night chasers it doesn’t get much better than that,” she said.

“I work at Capalaba in a number of roles, there’s always something to be done and I really enjoy being part of the community especially with the Capalaba Cup coming up.

“I toyed with the idea of putting Spring Chatter in a heat, but I think she’d be well and truly upgraded and don’t want to upset her rhythm while she’s racing well on the circle.”