Schmidt has two-pronged attack on QGOLD Final

By Pat McLeod

With some vital clear air on Saturday night at Ipswich, Jason Schmidt can become the poster-boy for the burgeoning QGOLD concept.

Schmidt, who trains in partnership with his brother Craig, has two runners in the $15,400 QGOLD Final at Ipswich, Flaming Curacao and Flaming Cyrus, but it is his wider back story that paints him as a prime example of what this ‘Queensland-bred’ race series is all about.

Schmidt is not only a trainer, but since his return to the sport about a decade ago he has bred ‘about 15 litters’.

Buoyed by the positive growth of the industry, he has also invested heavily in greyhound racing, moving into his own 40-acre facility at Churchable, west of Ipswich, just 10 days ago.

From there he will breed, rear and train.

He says the QGOLD strategy is more than a reward for ‘local’ breeders, but a key cornerstone in growing confidence in the sport.

“The QGOLD concept is a great idea,” he said.

“Incentives for breeding are very important because they help out in the short and long term. The continual payments for first starters and then first wins are a big bonus and a big help.

“There is a reward for the effort that you put into these pups.

“Now there are these races that Racing Queensland is putting on and they are a big incentive.

“I targeted this race in particular from about five weeks ago. I was actually holding my dogs back for this race because of the prize money incentive.

“The industry has changed a lot since the ‘1990s, when I was first involved. Back then we were racing for $500 a win. So, certainly now the prize money is so much better. At Albion Park on a Thursday night you can win $6000 for winning a run-of-the-mill race.

“Now there is a much wider scope to make a good living out of this industry. Of course you have to have good dogs and you have to know what you are doing as a trainer.

“And, you don't need a big set-up. I know plenty of people who are training from backyards and making good money.”

Schmidt says he is going into Saturday night’s $10,010-to-the-winner Final with confidence.

He said Flaming Curacao was coming back to her best after a setback, which resulted in a drop in ‘zip’ from the boxes.

“She was missing the start in the 431 metre races so I stepped her up to the 520 metres for a while and then bought her back and that seems to have corrected things,” he said.

“But, this is a good field, there is a lot of speed. I hope my runners can get some clear air.

“The run to the first corner will be interesting and there might be a bit of trouble there.”

Among the threats in the Final are Mark Saal’s two in-form runners Van Helsing (three wins and a second in his last four starts) and Walk Right In (two wins and two seconds from his last four outings).

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Schmidt as he moved into his new kennels.

“It is a good little set-up,” he said. “It has a licence for 100 dogs, rearing facilities, 10 rearing yards that go out into a five-acre paddock, a straight track and two sprint lanes.

“We will continue to breed and we are also rearing for some other people at the moment - about 30 pups.”