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Victorian debut double worth the wait for Scott

5 May 2020

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By Isaac Murphy

It’s been almost three months since Farmor Beach won the Group three Vince Curry in devastating fashion for Steve Scott.

With no restrictions, the trainer was quick to send the champion and fellow finalist Farmor Watchers to Robert Britton in Victoria to continue their ascent.

However, the pair were forced to wait until last night for their first start in Victoria, and both came out winners at Sandown Park.

The kennel mates were originally sent down for the Launching Pad series but, after being struck down with illness were forced into a sizeable spell, but Britton is rapt to finally get them to the track.

“I was really keen to get both of them started after such a significant layoff, it’s been an interrupted preparation to say the least and to see them both come out and win was a big weight lifted,” he said.

“When they came down in February, they got the gastro that was in the district at the time and it hit them especially hard.

“They’ve only recently full recovered from that and I was actually quite surprised to see them both come out and run as well as they did, there’s huge upside once they get a few runs in their legs.”

Farmor Beach was the marquee dog after his unbeaten Vince Curry Series run and he did just enough winning in 30.06 first up.

“I was happy to see Farmor Beach just get over the line, it was fortunate he set up that race winning lead down the back because he did get very tired late,” Britton said.

“I’m not too concerned about it, when he first came down and trialled his run home was top class like the rest of his racing, I think again you can attribute that to his limited preparation.

“If there is a concern it’s the short backup after the heat win last night to the final on Thursday, but I had a look at him this morning and he seems to have pulled up just fine.”

Ipswich

Vince Curry Memorial (G3) F 520m

Farmor Beach is set for a tough introduction to Victorian racing with their grading system pitting him against the older, more experienced dogs.

“Aged prize money is how they grade dogs in Victoria, which means because he’s won over $40,000 in Queensland, he races against other dogs that are in the same prize money range,” Britton said.

“The downside for him is he’s racing against the older seasoned dogs who’ve accumulated that money over time, some of his competition last night had forty odd starts compared to his three.

“His ability puts him right in the mix though, it shouldn’t hold him back too much, if I - were to put him in a Fifth Grade on Thursday night down here, he’d be the best dog in the field.”

Steve Scott originally sent Farmor Watchers down as a companion for Farmor Beach, but from the start Britton saw little between the two, Watchers winning in much quicker time of 29.71.

“The trials leading up to before they got sick there was very little between them, which came as a nice surprise given how Farmor Beach dominated the Vince Curry Series,” he said.

“Farmor Watchers is right there with the kennel mate as a future prospect and with his early speed and lower grading may find it a little bit easier to win a few races starting his career down here.

“I was much more confident about him yesterday and he came out and did what we expected and same deal he’ll only improve.”

Greyhound movement was just beginning to be regulated when Scott sent the pair down in late February, and Britton was doing everything he could to get the pair to Victoria having seen their class.

“I was doing everything I could to get them down here in time for the Launching Pad, you only had to look at the fashion Farmor Beach won the Vince Curry to know he would have been competitive,” Britton said.

“Their first trials when they arrived were both exceptional and would have put them right in the mix with the competition.

“The irony was they were both sick when the Launching Pad would have been on, so in the end it wasn’t all that bad the race was cancelled this year.”

Britton made the best of a bad situation with the long layoff, the pups feeling well and truly at home in one of the country’s most respected kennels.

“The time off was still far from ideal, I would have loved to have started them earlier, but it’s definitely had its positives as well,” Britton said.

“They’re both very young dogs and having been bred, reared and broken in by Steve (Scott) in Queensland - that’s all they knew - so it gave me a chance to get them used to their new surroundings before we raced.

“They came down a picture of health, went off colour and thankfully they’re glowing and ready to press forward again.”

Britton said he was content to let the pair find their feet and runs a few races in Victoria before looking at the bigger picture.

“At the present time I’m happy to just plug along with them in their grades one week at a time given the circumstances,” he said.

“When races like the Maturity and others come on the program, I wouldn’t hesitate to give them a chance because the potential is through the roof I’m really looking forward to seeing how good they can be.”