Rookie trainer Heddles making his mark in greyhounds

By Alex Nolan

Young trainer Dyllan Heddles can’t shake the greyhound racing bug.

The son of long-time dog man Jim Heddles is making his own mark in the sport after previously being content to sit on the sidelines as an owner.

A fitter and turner by trade, Dyllan recorded an early career highlight when he presented Tiki Bar to win her heat of the Group 3 Vince Curry Memorial Maiden at Ipswich last Saturday.

The 29-year-old said to win a heat of the prestigious series so early in his career was a truly special moment and likened the feeling to an addiction.

“It’s great owning a winner but to win a heat of the Vince Curry is an unreal feeling, especially after all the effort you put into a pup,” he said.

“I couldn’t do it without someone like Dad to bounce ideas off and learn from … this industry is hard for a young person coming through so it’s a god send to have him helping out.”

Tiki Bar did almost everything right at her racetrack debut.

Heddles said the 20-month-old bitch, by Fernando Bale out of Matriculate, had shown all the signs of running out a strong 500 metre effort in trials but he was concerned about her lack of early dash.

“She was never running extreme times where you’d be over-confident about her winning,” he said.

“But last weekend she did everything right and a bit of luck went our way.”

Heddles knows his bitch faces a tough task against fastest qualifier Litigate, in box one, when she leaves from box three in Saturday’s first semi-final, which is race five on the program. 

“If she can jump and get across in behind Litigate then I’m confident we can jag a place,” he said.

“The series will do her a world of good because I believe she has plenty of improvement to come.

“It’s a great series. I love seeing the young dogs and new sires coming through.

“It’s also a credit to all the trainers taking part because it takes a lot of hard work to get a dog ready for it.”

Despite being relatively new to the training caper, Heddles is well versed in the highs and lows that come with it.

It was about this time last year when he lost two greyhounds he owned to injury in the space of a week.

Gorilla Hoon had just won a Fifth Grade heat at Albion Park in 30.07 seconds and Chasin’ Charlie had hit the ground running in Queensland after Heddles purchased him from Jamie McHugh.

“We were shattered,” Heddles said.

“To have a dog like Gorilla Hoon running those times and then, the next minute, it’s over.

“To get back up and get rolling again this year has taken plenty of effort.”

Heddles, who also prepares three-time winner Hellacious, has two pups heading to be educated in March and a one by Maurice Minor out of Group 3-placed bitch Soft Sands.

He hopes to continue to learn from his father and increase his involvement in the sport.

“Having grown up around greyhound racing I always used to wonder where the young trainers were going to come from,” he said.

“I tried to get away from it but it’s addictive.

“I personally hope more young trainers come through because that will ensure the sport remains sustainable into the future.”