Veteran trainer’s latest sprinter is no laughing matter

By Pat McLeod

Gerry Crisci may be in the twilight of a lengthy greyhound training career, but he is experiencing one of his most successful ‘runs’ with sprinter Comical Warren.

To date the Cyndie Elson-owned chaser has collected almost $54,000 in prize money from 15 wins and eight placings across 34 starts.

“I have had better dogs over the years, but for a long time we were racing for just a few hundred dollars,” the 81-year-old said.

“Comical Warren is no champion, but is a good, solid performer.

“He has always been a good dog, but has had his injury concerns. A couple of times he has been out for a couple months injured. I recall a period when he drew three sevens and the eight in four starts.

“He has been unlucky in a number of races, so his record could’ve been even better. But, that is greyhound racing. Right now, I have finally got him going. He is a very handy dog.”

Crisci, who is based out of Churchable, will campaign Comical Warren in a 520 metre event at Albion Park on Thursday night.

He believes that if his chaser ‘is close enough, he is good enough’.

“He is coming out of the three box and that is the best box for him,” he says.

"He is not the quickest away, not a leading dog, but he does come home strongly. His last start was a 600 metre race at Albion Park and I have given him a bit of a freshen up since, so hopefully he goes well.

“He is ready, so it is up to him now. As long as he is close enough then he is a strong chance. If he is in the first three after the first corner, I am confident that we will have a collect.”

Crisci arrived in Australia from Italy in 1961 as an 18-year-old.

Eventually four of his brothers and a sister all migrated and settled around the Brisbane region.

Initially greyhound racing was not on his radar.

“I wanted to be a jockey,” he recalls.

“I went to Sydney to Jack Green’s stables, but after a couple of months I decided I was better suited in my trade as a painter, so came back to Brisbane.”

Several years later a friend from Sydney arrived with a couple of greyhounds.

“He asked me if I wanted to ‘go to the dogs’,” Crisci recalls.

“I told him I didn’t know anything about them, had never been to a greyhound track. So off I went with him to the Lawnton track. That was my first experience in greyhound racing.

“Soon after, he told me that one of his greyhounds wasn’t performing very well so he was going to return the dog to the owners.

“Instead, I bought the dog for $300 and the first time I raced that dog, Barossa Bay, at the Casino track, it won.”

That was in 1970 and Crisci has seldom been without race dogs in his kennels ever since.

“There have been some good dogs over the years,” he says.

“Some of the best have been sent down to (champion Victorian trainer) Jason Thompson. One of the better ones that I raced was Vesuvio, who won nine in a row on the Gold Coast.”

Crisci says his love of greyhound racing has not waned across six decades.

“When I was working, I would be up at 4am to walk my dogs and then go off to work,” he says.

“I love greyhound racing. I really enjoy walking them and being around them. They are a beautiful animal.”