Townsville greyhound racing enjoying a golden run

By Andrew Smith

By her own admission, greyhound trainer Bobbie-Jean Chaffey far exceeded her own expectations in 2024.

Her outstanding season saw her crowned the Townsville Trainer of the Year at last Friday night’s Queensland Greyhound Awards at Victoria Park.

The Stuart-based conditioner netted 156 wins and 369 placings from over 1300 starts, all on the Townsville Showgrounds track.

Chaffey finished 668 points ahead of her nearest North Queensland rival in trainer Hayley Wooler.

She also ended the year in second spot behind revered dog man Tom Tzouvelis in the state-wide table, and was the top Queensland female trainer for 2024.

The achievement was made all the more remarkable by the fact the 44-year-old was still working full-time up until August last year.

As one of the North’s leading trainers with around 50 dogs in work, Chaffey admitted she had come a long way since taking out a handler’s licence as a hobby at race meetings six years ago.

“Our only goal for 2024 was to get 100 winners because we were four short the previous year, so we ticked that off,” Chaffey said.

“To have 150 winners for the year and then find out we were top trainer for the year, and top female trainer based on points in Queensland and second on the ladder - that was amazing.

“To have our own dog in the Townsville Cup - that was something we’ve tried before and failed every time, so it was great to have one of our own dogs in the Townsville Cup.”

That dog was Bar One Smokers who finished seventh in the Group 3 Cup final in September, following a blistering heat win a week earlier.

It was the Townsville Derby win of Solomon Cain later that month that delivered Chaffey her biggest thrill of the year.

The fawn youngster scored over the 498-metre trip for the first time in the Derby Final, having jumped at $17.

Chaffey paid tribute to husband Paul Smith and son Jake Casey, who prepared his maiden victory as a trainer himself in October when Verruckt got the money in Townsville.

“It feels good - it makes all our blood sweat and tears throughout the year worth it, so we’re really excited and grateful for the achievement,” Chaffey said.

“Paul’s been a big part of it - he’s been a mentor and shown me the ropes of it and my son Jake is a trainer himself but to have the family involved, without them we wouldn’t get to where we are today.”

The Tony Parker-trained Showtime Isaac was crowned the Townsville Greyhound of the Year for his 18 wins in 2024.

But one of the biggest cheers of the evening came for long-time Townsville Greyhound Club President Gary Heath who received the Outstanding Contribution Award.

The club stalwart, who has been president for almost 20 years, said the announcement came as a shock.

“I was not expecting that one little bit and don’t think I deserve it because there’s so many people in the industry that do so many things but it’s very much appreciated,” Heath said.

“I know every club gets to nominate one person and we nominated (trainer) Michael Fusco that does so much within our club and I really thought he was deserving of winning the award.

“So to have my name read out I was actually gobsmacked - I don’t know who nominated me but very thankful for getting the nomination and getting the award!

“My committee make me look good, I’ve got such a hard-working committee and there’s so many passionate people on my committee, and has been in the 19 years I’ve been involved as President.

“I wouldn’t win this award without them and this award goes to them as well.”

The Townsville greyhound racing scene has been coming along in leaps and bounds in recent times.

Significant milestones have been reached in recent weeks as part of the club’s rail replacement project, with all posts and the lure rail successfully installed, with irrigation works due to be completed this week.

Even with racing temporarily on hold, Heath has been buoyed by the enthusiasm of young participants in the industry as well as a strong turnout for last year’s Townsville Cup night.

“We’re progressing a lot, we’ve got a lot of dogs and the industry is so strong in Townsville it’s so good to see – I’m sure we could have three meetings and fill the numbers no problems so it’s actually booming,” Heath said.

“We’ve got a lot of young people coming on which is very hard to do in the industry, and have probably got five or six young people involved in the last 12 months so it’s definitely very strong.

“We really try and promote the Townsville Cup and get the community involved and the last couple of years we’ve had that many people come along and there’s been so many young kids that actually come in and we let them pat the dogs.

“Young people come up to me and ask how can we get involved in owning a dog or training a dog so that’s how we’ve been able to promote it with the younger generation the last couple of years.”

Chaffey agreed that there were encouraging signs for the growth of the code in the city, believing that there is an appetite for a third weekly meeting.

“Townsville is a big part of greyhound racing in Queensland – getting the new rail, it’s been almost 50 years since we’ve had anything happened with the rail, so I just see it progressing,” Chaffey said.

“Racing twice a week means more of the trainers can get more dogs and I think we would have something for racing three times a week as well, so hopefully that is part of the future.”

Weather permitting, a return to trials and racing in Townsville is now expected in the week commencing April 7.