Time no barrier for Tipsy Four

By Isaac Murphy

Tipsy Four has changed Townsville trainer Danny Preh’s life, and the passionate greyhound man is still on a high after the evergreen chaser broke the 380-metre track record at Townsville on Saturday.

The trainer is soaking up every minute with the former South-East Queenslander as she continues to thrive under his care.

The bitch had enjoyed a long stint under owner Darren Makowiecki’s eye giving him his first Thursday night winner, but the decision to send her to Preh in July couldn’t have worked out better for both parties, and now the bitch is looking to extend her win streak to four tomorrow night.

“I was nervous all week hoping to get my first training hat trick with her going for three in a row on Saturday and not only did she win but knocked over the track record (21.43) in the process - I couldn’t believe it,” Preh said.

“I knew she was going well, the previous Tuesday she’d gone 21.60 and was held up for a run, so when she led and got in the clear I guess the record was on the cards, but I was too busy jumping up and down about three straight to notice.

“I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet what an achievement it is, all credit to the bitch - she’s just loving her work and it’s showing on the clock.”

Tipsy’s Four’s form had been so good in Townsville that she was going to come back to Brisbane to continue racing, but Preh ensured connections made the right decision.

“She was originally set to go home two weeks ago; the flights were booked and everything, I had to plead with Darren Makowiecki to convince the other owners to let her stay and thank god they did,” he said.

“She came out and won the Mayors Trophy the following Tuesday, won again over the sprint the next week and then broke the record on Saturday.

“It’s been a whirlwind, but I just want to keep her up here as long as possible and I’m glad the owners are reaping the benefits too.”

The track record was no fluke, with the bitch had been putting results on the board almost instantly, but not even Preh could envisage what she’d achieve.

“I didn’t think it’d get much better than when she came up and won her Townsville Cup heat and ran third in the final; that was some effort, but this has probably topped that,” he said.

“I’ve had her for 26 starts and she’s had ten wins, ten placings, two fourths and only missed out four times - it’s an amazing record.

“She came up here with 90-something starts to her name for eight wins and a bunch of minors, but since then she’s just been reborn; winning her 100^th start, a track record at start 121, I can’t thank Darren and the owners enough.”

Preh has only been in Townsville for three years but is busy building a name for himself in the training ranks, and he’s obviously struck the right chord with Tipsy Four.

“I haven’t done anything drastic training wise; I just make sure she gets her time in the air conditioning, make sure she’s eating right, and we’ve found a racing routine that suits her as well,” he said.

“We’ll race her Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday; three runs in a week then give her the week off and she just seems to be thriving on that method.

“Once you find something that works you stick to it, she’s racing the best she has in her career so touch wood we can keep ticking along.”

While the track record came over the sprint trip, Tipsy Four has fast ascended to the top ranks over the 498 metres as well.

“She’s very versatile between the 380 metres and the 498, I think racing over the sprint has kept her jumping well over the longer trip and her run home over the short course has benefitted from her longer racing - she’s a Free For All bitch over both distances,” Preh said.

“Being quite a small bitch she does need to have things go her way at box rise and it took her a while to figure the track and other dogs out, but a 7.38 first sectional the other day will see her leading any race.

“When she gets crowded, she struggles to take the run, but give her clear air and you see the way she opens up out in front.”

Preh’s comfortable running his boutique kennel now and soaking in knowledge from different trainers, but he’s still got plenty he wants to tick off.

“In the future I’d love to be owning and racing my own dogs, but we’re only a small operation at this stage and I still get a hell of a kick out of training for other owners,” he said.

“It’s always been in my nature to treat every dog we get the same, even when Darren Johnstone came and stayed with Federal Morgan for the Townsville Cup and we were racing each other, I would have been happy to see him win it.

“It’s going to be a sad day when we have to say goodbye to her; I’ll probably shed a couple of tears, but the memories she’s given us already are priceless.”

Preh is on the verge of breeding his maiden litter in Townsville, a major milestone for the trainer who loves keeping busy.

“We’ve got a straw from Aussie Infrared and are hoping to breed with one of our own in Rockin’ Tonight which will be another first for us,” he said.

“There will be plenty of decisions to make if the whole process goes smoothly, we’ll definitely want to keep a couple, probably sell a couple and let other trainers take a few.

“I’ve got a couple of pups with Matt Evans in Brisbane too, we’ve got a good relationship and when they come to hand we’ll make the decision to either race down there or come up here, there’s plenty to keep us busy.”