Travis Elson wants a Golden Chase triple

By Josh Spasaro

Top trainer and breeder Travis Elson never thought Scrub’s Blue would be shooting for his own incredible Golden Chase “triple crown” this week.

And, there have been times when he didn’t even think the striking blue dog was the best in his talented family.

But, you would be wise not to discount the chances of him and litter brother Hope’s Jacky ahead of the Golden Chase Final over 520 metres at Q2 Parklands on Thursday night.

Scrub’s Blue, a homebred by Fernando Bale and out of Nan’s Magic, won both the Golden Chase Straight and Sprint series in March and April.

“To win all three, that’d be pretty special. You wouldn’t think that’d get done too often,” Elson said.

The form of Scrub’s Blue is also strong, with three wins and four runner-up finishes from his past seven starts.

However, even Yandina Creek conditioner Elson has harboured doubts over his chaser, who has 11 triumphs from 35 career starts.

“I’ve knocked this dog every start. I don’t mean every start, but I didn’t think he could win the Straight series and he won it,” he said.

“And, then he was in the 457 metre series and I didn’t think he was strong enough, but he won that. He held on.

“I didn’t give him much chance last week and he ran the faster of the two and he ran super in 29.83 seconds.”

Weighing 31.5kg, Scrub’s Blue has a big heart to go with his strong frame.

“He just doesn’t seem to give up. He’s the more honest of the two, to give you that super run every week,” Elson said.

“If you asked me last week, I would’ve said Hope’s Jacky was the better of the two. But, this week I’m going to say Scrub’s Blue.

“Every time I go against him, he gets up on me.”

Another thing in favour of Scrub’s Blue is his ability to quickly adapt to new distances.

He handled his step up to 520 metres with a competitive runner-up finish to QGOLD Emerging Sprinters champion Backcreek Butch in his Golden Chase heat last week.

“I thought he was more of a 350-390 metre dog,” Elson said.

“And, then he stepped up and won that 457 metre series. His run last week - yes, he got run down by two lengths, but the dog who ran him down is a potential 600 metre dog.

“Any other dog on his heels probably wouldn’t have run him down last week.

“But, he’s a super dog. We just held on to win the 457 metre series with Backcreek Butch running second.”

Litter brother Hope’s Jacky won his Golden Chase heat in 30.05 seconds, beating promising chaser Malawi Rebel.

“He’s going good. He’s probably a dog who’s starting to grow a little bit in confidence,” Elson said.

“He was a bit hit-and-miss on form, but I think Q1 really gave him that bit of confidence on the big track.

“I took him to Q2 the week before the heats for a race because he’s a dog who needs to have a look on the track, like a refresh.

“He just needs that bit of confidence to know where he is.”

Jumping from box five with Scrub’s Blue on his inside should also help put the fawn dog’s mind at ease.

“I think at Q1, all my dogs go well from any draw. They run straight and don’t crash - it’s taught them to run a bit straighter,” Elson said.

“So, I think them drawing side-by-side, they’ll both run pretty straight.

“I tried to get him up to 520 metres for the Vince Curry and I didn’t quite get there. I gave him a break and then went back to Q1 and he’s a lot stronger now.

“Both the boys are going super around that 400 metre mark, so we just need a clear run.”

Elson was full of praise for the dam of Hope’s Jacky and Scrub’s Blue - Nan’s Magic.

“Phenomenal. It was only a couple of weeks ago when one of her older ones won and ticked over $1 million for her first litter,” he said.

“This is her second litter and they’re going super. They’d be close to the $300,000 mark. 

“We’ve been very blessed with a very good broodbitch. She’s on the couch. She’s got a beautiful temperament. You wouldn’t get more of a hassle-free greyhound. She’s absolutely unreal.”

Elson added that both Hope’s Jacky and Scrub’s Blue take after their dam, who finished her track career with 21 wins from 72 starts.

“She had electric speed early. She led most of her races. A bit like her offspring - fast early,” he said.

“She did win her fair share over 500 metres, but it was her sheer early speed that broke them up.”