Idea’s Girl in peak form for Capalaba Cup

By Josh Spasaro

Casey Dargusch admits Idea’s Girl can be a little dramatic with her behaviour at times.

But, otherwise, she is calm and obedient.

She is also in a purple patch of form under Churchable trainer Dargusch heading into the Group 2 Capalaba Cup on Sunday.

The Ferdinand Boy and Some Idea chaser has won her past five starts, including her heat when she registered a time of 19.52 seconds last Sunday.

“She has her little quirks where she’ll get a bit mouthy when you’re standing there and ignoring her, she wants attention and stuff like that,” Dargusch said.

“Other than that, she’s asleep in her kennel. She does everything you ask her to do.

“She knows when it’s go time and when it’s race day and what she’s supposed to be doing. She’s just a complete package. She’s a pretty good kennel dog.

“She’s just what you want in a race dog. It’s hard to put your finger on it.”

Even the blue bitch’s appearance is a little quirky.

“She’s probably not the most magnificent dog to look at. I think she’s a nice-looking bitch,” Dargusch said.

“She’s not small and she’s got a bit of leg under her. You can line up five champions side-by-side and they’ll all look different.

“So, there’s really no narrowing it down with what makes one better over the other.”

Idea’s Girl was originally trained by owner John Quarman. She is out of his broodbitch, Some Idea, who won 17 races from an impressive 156 starts.

Dargusch enjoyed instant success with her, saluting in her first start for the new trainer on June 25, before embarking on her current winning run of five straight races.

But, the consistent trainer deflected praise back onto Quarman when asked what the key was to getting Idea’s Girl to peak in time for the Capalaba Cup Final.

“It’s Johnny. We can’t claim anything. She’s a good bitch and she’s adapted to the way that we train,” she said.

“She likes a lot of work, which we figured out. And, she’s just a good dog - you’ve got to look after the good dogs.

“We’re really happy with how she’s settled in. They were used to Johnny and we were worried how they’d all go, but they settled in straight away.

“Especially her. I can’t complain - she’s just been absolutely amazing for us, which is a relief.”

Because Quarman was experiencing health issues, Dargusch took in Idea’s Girl.

But, when she started stringing some wins together, the blue bitch remained at Dargusch’s Golden View Greyhound Complex.

“He rang us and asked us if we’d take some dogs for him,” she said.

“We ended up with six and as he’s gotten better, he’s taken a few home to get back into it.

“She was supposed to go and he asked us to take her while she’s going so well and to target some races.

“It was a big relief to have her continue to go good because it’s always a worry when they come and they’re running great times and winning races to keep that up.

“So, for her to continue and be going well, I’m really pleased for Johnny because he’s an absolutely wonderful bloke.”

Idea’s Girl is the star of Quarman’s Ferdinand Boy and Some Idea litter, with $177,300 in prizemoney courtesy of 34 wins from 77 starts.

Another Idea is also a standout, with 19 wins from 81 starts.

“We’ve known John for a very long time. We broke in all his dogs,” Dargusch said.

“We broke in this bitch and the litter for him, they broke in quite well. It’s a fantastic litter. They have been amazing.

“It’s probably the best litter he’s had, which is fantastic. He’s always had a handy one, but for the whole litter to be fairly handy, he’s had great success with them. So, it’s really good to see for him.”

For Sunday’s Group 2 assignment on the Capalaba straight, Dargusch said she did not mind Idea’s Girl drawing box eight.

“I don’t mind her being out there. She goes pretty straight, so it is what it is,” she said.

“I’m not totally unhappy with the box.”

Idea’s Girl never gave up in her heat win, flashing home to beat Nangar Wally inside the final 50 metres last Sunday.

“She’s very strong. I think people underestimate how strong she is,” Dargusch said.

“We knew if she was up there early, then it would be hard for them to hold her off. She’s a hard chaser. She just chases her bum off. If they all did that, you’d be very happy.

“She showed early when she was with Johnny that nothing really fazed her too much.”