Tony Glover savours special victory alongside loved ones

By Jordan Gerrans

Despite racing some of the most promising litters in Queensland, Tony Glover is not a regular race goer.

The long-time owner and breeder has picked up a swag of feature races over 2022 with his Hara’s Honey and Fernando Bale litter.

But, he has rarely been at the track to watch them salute.

So, he picked a perfect time to actually make his way to the races.

Glover and his family were at Albion Park on Thursday evening as star youngster Hara’s Skye added the Group 3 Rising Stars Final to her resume by almost four lengths in 29.75 seconds.

And, to make it even sweeter, Hara’s Betty upset red-hot favourite Days Of Thunder – who was this week unveiled in the field for the Group 1 Topgun Stayers – earlier in the program.

Glover has owned greyhounds since he was a teenager and now with three children and a busy business life, he does get to the track as often as he once did.

The Glover clan savoured the special moment on Thursday evening as they had been along for the journey with the litter through the rearing and whelping process.

“It is all surreal for the family,” Glover said.

“We have made Finals in the past and you think it is going to happen for you, but as we know they are so hard to win.

“We have been in so many Finals and you hardly ever win them.

“But, for Betty to win early on and beat the good dog Days Of Thunder and then going to the Final, all the family could not believe it.

“They were all there to cheer it on.

“We have all sacrificed so much time to whelp and rear the litters and to see the results, it is so rewarding.”

Hara’s Skye has claimed the Listed Ipswich Young Guns Final as well as running third in the Group 3 Townsville Cup earlier this year.

The late Michael ‘Tricky’ Stephenson, who passed away in May of last year, was always side by side with Glover at the races and breeding the next generation across his tenure in the greyhound industry.

When Glover was a regular race goer in his younger years, it was Tricky who would often pick him up on the way to the track or even heading to the trials.

With Tricky sadly gone, the owner and breeder handed the keys to his operation to emerging trainer Jemma Daley.

The late Tricky was a mentor of Daley’s as she transitioned from her experience with the gallopers to now running a sizeable and prolific kennel out of Kurwongbah.

The 33-year-old Daley prepared both the Hara’s winners on Thursday evening and is still blown away that Glover entrusted his emerging stars with such a youthful and inexperienced trainer.

“To have the faith he has had in me has been huge,” Daley said.

“When we lost Tricky there was the decision to be made there if they were to fold up or go ahead.

“And, he said to me that if I wanted to do it all, he would back me.

“I just cannot thank him enough for the opportunity, it is a one in a million chance to get an opportunity like this.

“To get the dogs that I have received, he puts full faith in everything I do and I cannot thank him enough.”

Glover will often leave Daley to make significant decisions around the future planning of the kennel without consulting him.

For example, on Friday morning Glover was unsure if Hara’s Skye would progress through to the upcoming Ipswich Cup series.

He was happy to leave the decision up to Daley.

The trainer had flagged before the Rising Stars Final that the rich Ipswich Cup would be her next assignment.

“He is a laid back character,” Daley said of Glover.

“He leaves a lot of it to me and that makes my job so much easier.”

Hara’s Skye’s litter sister – Hara’s Pandora – ran into third in the Rising Stars Final to make the occasion even better for the kennel and connections.

Glover is glad he put the faith in Daley and her partner Tarquin Neal to prepare his star-studded litter.

Neal has Hara’s Pandora under his racing kennel.

“She definitely is doing a wonderful job, between her and Tarquin, but my dogs have mainly been with Jemma for quite a while,” Glover said.

“She is very committed and is putting in a lot of effort, which is what you need to get the results on the track.

“I cannot knock anything she does, she puts in so many hours that people do not see.

“People that are not in greyhound racing do not understand the hours that go into it behind the scenes.”

Rebranded The Rising Stars in 2020 and contested at Listed level, Magical Hope became the inaugural winner of the Rising Stars when the Cyndie Elson-trained bitch held off a previous Capalaba Cup winner in Hara’s Clyde.

Last year, Sunshine Delight clocked 29.90 seconds from box one to claim the Rising Stars from Hearts Colliding and Dulceria.