WHEN lightly raced Victorian sprinter Fabregas delivered the knockout blow to his rivals to take out the Tattsbet National Sprint Championship in Hobart last night he not only established himself as a potential superstar but it also signalled the emergence of a highly promising young trainer in David Hirst.
Fabregas was having only his 13th start but it was his 12th win and he made some of the best sprinters in Australia look ordinary.
The son of Bombastic Shiraz-Wicked Witch began brilliantly from box seven and after a stoush with Uno Reltub (2) and Exclusive One (8) he found the rail and sped clear.
Fabregas extended his lead in the home straight to hit the line three lengths clear of Queensland’s Glen Gallon with Exclusive One a game third almost a length away.
Hirst was ecstatic after the win.
“What the dog did here in Hobart tonight hasn’t really sunk in yet but I’m sure the enormity of it will hit me in a day or two,” Hirst said as he led his rising star back to the presentation area.
“It was only a few months ago that this dog was having his first start so to come this far so quickly and win a Group 1 and a race that probably every trainer wants to win is just unbelievable,” he said.
The dog had his own cheer squad travel from Melbourne and after the race they could be heard all over the racecourse.
All members of the 20-string cheer squad were decked out in bright red wind cheaters with Fabregas emblazoned across the front.
Fabregas, owned by Paul Westerveld, began racing in early May with a win over 515 metres at Sandown and winning has become a habit with a fifth at The Meadows the only glitch in the record book from his 13 outings.
Hirst, 23, has only been training for 10 months but he has been around greyhounds for many years.
“I’ve only been in this game five minutes compared to most of the trainers who had runners in this race but I plan to be around for a long time to come,” he said.
Hirst prepares a small team out of his kennels at Cranbourne but he’s hoping to expand numbers.
Fabregas stopped the clock at 25.85 which was outstanding given the race was run in torrential rain and winds that were gusting up to 40 kilometres an hour.
“The conditions were a bit tough and that’s why I was so proud of what my dog did.”
“To run such a great time in those conditions is amazing so imagine what he could have done had it been a dry night on a fast track,” he said.
Exclusive One was backed in to start the $2.40 favourite and probably on the strength of his impeccable form on the Bulli track in NSW which is almost a replica of the Hobart circuit.
The David Righetti-trained dog was gallant in defeat. he had to work hard three-w-de to the top turn and only faded the last 50 metres.
Ï am very proud of my dog but it’s Group 1 racing and that’s what happens when things don’t quite go your way in these big races,” Righetti said.
“This dog has a very big future. That was only his 14th start so the best is yet to come for this dog,” he said.
Exclusive One has notched 10 wins and three minor placings from his 14 starts.
The Tony Brett-trained Glen Gallon ran another honest race from box five.
Glen Gallon was with the leaders to the top turn but dropped back to third upon straightening and ran on strongly over the concluding stages to edge out Exclusive One for the runner-up prize.
In winning the championship Fabregas more than doubled his career stake earnings with the $75,000 winner’s prize taking the dog’s earnings to just over $131,000.
Hirst said Fabregas will be given time to recover from this latest assignment.
“I’ll give the dog two weeks off and during that time I’ll sort out where we’ll head next,” Hirst said.
“There’s no doubt he’ll follow the Group 1 circuit and hopefully I’ll have him for a while because I’m sure the owner (Westerveld) will already be thinking about a stud career for the dog,” the trainer said.