Boon kennel in hunt for second Rockhampton Cup

By Jordan Gerrans

More than four decades in the police force took William Boon all over the state and now retired and settled in Central Queensland, the Boon kennel are searching for their second Cup in Rockhampton.

The southern trainers have dominated the Rockhampton Cup in recent years – particularly champion trainer Tony Brett – but the Boons lay claim to being one of the last locals to lift the prize.

William trains in partnership with his wife Peta and the kennel claimed the 2012 Rockhampton Cup with Petie Pie, a dog they bred themselves.

In 2022, Informality will be the dog representing the kennel, set to jump from box six after winning one of last Friday evening’s heats at Callaghan Park.

The Boon team have an excellent strike-rate of landing dogs in the Rockhampton Cup Final over the last decade, William estimating they have had nine starters, but are yet to win one following Petie Pie’s triumph.

Since the 2012 Final, William says the kennel have been hit with wide boxes in the decider and was quick to point out Petie Pie won from box two all those years ago.

Star Pupil, a kennel mate to Petie Pie, ran into third in the Cup Final of that year, making it a red-letter day for the Boon’s.

“She would have been one of the last locals to win the Cup up here as a lot of southern dogs have won the Cup in recent years,” William said.

Now based at Zilzie in CQ, William has seen plenty of Queensland over his lifetime, based in Brisbane, Townsville, Blackwater, Mount Perry, Aramac, Springsure, among other locations, during his 41 years in the police force.

While his family have always been associated with dogs, when he finished up as a copper in 2015, William and Peta have focussed their attention into the dogs.

“We just love it,” he said.

From an Aston Dee Bee and Velocity Melzon litter, Informality qualified for the Final with a 30.21-second performance around the 510-metre Cup distance last Friday.

The black bitch did it from box two – which suits her best, William believes – but she will need to be at her best to contend with the green rug on her back in the Final.

“The box six is probably not great for her, she needs to be closer to the fence,” Boon said.

“Inside boxes from this start at Rocky is vital.

“She has got a lot of mid-race dash but the last 20 or 30 metres might be a problem for her.

“Her go is to get out and try bust them up early and if she can get across from box six and do that, there is a lot of pace inside her, then I am not sure. She is in there and we will have a go.”

The Brett-trained Milligan remains a warm favourite with the TAB, while Zip Stream has moved into second favouritism for trainer Ken Boody.

Milligan will jump from two and Boon is unsure if his dog can beat Brett’s runner, but is optimistic that she can run into the placings.

“If there is any trouble early on and she got away from them, they will have trouble running her down,” he said.

Informality is being judged a $15 chance with the TAB to claim the Cup.

While she is a rough chance against the top southern dogs, she has run 29.87 seconds around Rockhampton on a few occasions, which should put her right in the finish if she can run up to her best form.

Informality started her career with Bundamba trainer Peter Wilson before she was purchased by the Boons and headed north to Rocky.

Under the agreement of the purchase, the bitch will return to breeder Steve Williams, through his Velocity Lodge operation, once her racing days are over.

After winning three of her first six starts, Informality lost confidence and form under Wilson, which led to the change of kennels.

With the CQ greyhound community keen to have a local winner in 2022 after Brett’s dominance of late, all the Rockhampton hopefuls are boxed next to each other in the Group 3 event on Friday.

First emergency Canary Wharf will take his place as one of three local runners to contest the Cup after Mitchell Street was scratched earlier this week.

The Dallas Beckett-trained dog, Canary Wharf, will exit box four and joins wildcard entrant Zip Stream (Box 5) and Informality (Box 6) in their quest to keep the $40,000 first prize in the Beef Capital.

Boon believes all the local dogs being boxed together is not ideal as the 510 metre start can be a tricky one in high pressure races.

The Rockhampton Cup will be run for $60,000 in 2022, with $40,000 going to the winner. 

The Central Queensland feature event has been dominated by southern trainers in recent years, specifically champion conditioner Brett, who has won three over the last five years.

South East Queensland-based trainers will again be hard to hold out come Friday, with strong kennels making the journey north, including Brett once again.