Selena predicts big staying future for Rocky Cup runner

By Wayne Heming

Willow Vale trainer Selena Zammit believes her Rockhampton Cup runner Backcreek Benny could be a future staying star.

“We believe the dog is going to be a great stayer, but he is sprinting so well, we thought, why not have a crack at the Rocky Cup?” Zammit said. 

The exciting Sennachie and Kooringa Maizie dog has his sights set on a ninth straight win for the kennel and the $75,000 purse that goes to the winner of Wednesday night’s 510 metre feature Final.

Many see the event as a showdown between Gold Coast visitor Backcreek Benny and local track specialist, Play Dirty, who is trained by the astute Dallas Beckett.

Both greyhounds recorded impressive heat wins last week.

Play Dirty will be well served by the one box in the decider while his chief rival Backcreek Benny, a noted tardy beginner, will need his fair serve of luck from box two.

The pair won their heats in contrasting styles last week, but both victories had enormous merit.

Play Dirty looked in danger of being run down by the Jeff Crawford-owned and trained Star Turn in his heat, but dug deep and kicked hard on straightening to win comfortably in 29.81 seconds.

Beckett has had some problems keeping Play Dirty calm and fresh for his races recently.

But, he seems to have found the key to the Rockhampton track specialist, who boasts a fabulous record of 14 wins from 17 starts on the Central Queensland circuit.

In all likelihood, Backcreek Benny will be conceding Play Dirty a start entering the Rockhampton straight.

But, the Zammit-trained black dog proved with his stylish heat win he could manoeuvre his way through traffic while possessing an electrifying finish.

In his heat, he was near enough to last away.

He was fourth, still several lengths from the leader Aidan’s Queen along the back straight but showed a tremendous turn of foot to gather in the leader and race away for a very smart two-and-a-half-length win in 29.84 seconds.

“He is not a great beginner, but after he begins, he shows a lot of field sense working his way through the field, inside or outside, wherever he needs to go,” Zammit said.

“His last few starts he is showing his track intelligence and seems to be a lot smarter with his racing now.

“We just need a little luck on the night, he certainly has the ability to win.”

Zammit said she and her husband, celebrated trainer Mick Zammit, got Backcreek Benny from good friend, Casino trainer Robbie Andrews, and the dog had thrived since arriving at their kennels.

“Robbie rang us and told us he had a dog that was ‘too good’ to be racing in his area and asked us to take him for owner Chris Pratt, and we said we would,” Zammit said.

“Early in his career, his poor box manners were getting in the way. He’d always run home and you would think to yourself: 'Wow, that was a sensational run'.

“I think we have just started to work out how to keep him happy and fit in between races and he’s become smarter and is hitting his straps.

“The dog looks a million dollars, jumping out of his skin and is very happy.”

Zammit said she was confident Backcreek Benny would make the transition from sprinting to a smart 600 and 700 metre stayer.

“We took him to Grafton and he won a heat of a race over 650 metres (by four lengths)," she said. 

“We couldn’t race him in the Final and had to give him a few weeks off, but we still think his future is as a stayer.”