Tuckeroo Road shows early signs of Mum’s success

By Josh Spasaro

Tuckeroo Road might not go on to be as good as his dam, Tyanna Belle, but he has shown plenty of promise to start his chasing career.

That is the opinion of his trainer, Douglas Gladman, ahead of the Capalaba Young Guns Final on Sunday.

The blue dog, who turns two on May 7, carries good form into the feature worth $11,800.

He finished second in his heat to one of the favourites in the Final, Bentley Olaf, and has saluted in four of his past nine starts.

Tuckeroo Road almost has $20,000 in prizemoney to date, picking up his four victories from 15 career races.

Gladman raced Tyanna Belle, who finished sixth in the 2022 The Phoenix.

“She won nearly $200,000, so you’d have to say she was a pretty handy bitch. And, she holds a track record at Albion Park, which of course will never be broken now,” the Elimbah conditioner said.

“She was an exceptional dog. Every pup she’s dropped has won races.

“She had an absolute desire to win. But, she was the only dog we’ve had who could hold her pace and sometimes increase her pace on the corners.

“She could handle all tracks and she seemed to relish the corners. She could increase her position over the field on the turns.”

The 84-year-old Gladman said that Tuckeroo Road was also developing nicely and was capable of racing over 520 metres like his dam who prevailed in the 2022 Queensland Flame.

“There are a couple of pretty smart ones in it on Sunday and I think he’ll be up against it. But, he’s an improving young dog,” the veteran trainer with over 30 years of experience said.

“He hasn’t had many starts and he won’t be far away.”

Tuckeroo Road showed plenty of courage to finish runner-up in last Sunday’s heat after he found himself in early congestion.

Bentley Olaf saluted in 19.79 seconds. Champion trainer Tom Tzouvelis oversaw Sheriff produce the fastest heat time of 19.26 seconds.

Gladman is mindful of this week’s challenge for his developing juvenile chaser, but believes he can be competitive from the three box.

“It’s very strong and you’ve got to be realistic. They’re experienced dogs with a lot of form,” he said.

“But, you can never write off a young dog. Their improvement can be natural.

“He did find trouble in the heat and he’d have to improve quite a bit to take it out. But, he won’t be far away.”

Gladman said Tuckeroo Road was capable of making the step up to 520 metres, adding he was very happy with his five-dog litter from a Feral Franky and Tyanna Belle mating.

“That’s where he wants. He’s a 520 metre or more dog and I’ve got great hopes for him. I haven’t over-raced him,” he said.

“He’s only had a handful of starts, but he’s always been thereabouts. He’s always given me the impression he can do better.

“His brother, Special Rocky, is probably a bit faster than him.

“He’s a dog where if he drew well in his heat, I would’ve rated his chances highly, too.”

Gladman said Tyanna Belle was the most talented greyhound he has trained and she is still living with him.

“We’ve always seemed to have a pretty handy dog, although some Group meetings have eluded us a bit,” he said.

“But, Tyanna Belle was the fastest dog in Queensland. When you start going 22.16 seconds over 390 metres, that’ll never be repeated.

“She’s the best dog we’ve had, but she was probably one of the best dogs in her time up here, anyway.”

The knowledgeable conditioner added he was looking forward to seeing the progress of Tyanna Belle’s final litter in the coming months.

“She’s still with us. She’s got a repeat litter three months old to Feral Franky, who are brothers and sisters to Tuckeroo Road,” he said.

“We went back to him because of how much potential these ones were showing.”