When Craig Chappelow leads out Embrace for heat three of Saturday night's group 1 Peter Mosman Opal at Wentworth Park, he will be continuing a family tradition that extends almost as far back as the launch of greyhound racing in Australia.
Chappelow, 44, is a fourth generation Sydney greyhound trainer whose great grandfather Dave Chappelow in the early 1930s, just a few years after mechanical lure racing began at Harold Park in 1927, built and managed one of Australia's first trial tracks.
Dave Chappelow's track was at Mascot, alongside Sydney Airport, while Craig's grandfather Arthur Chappelow trained the famous race bitch Merle Drew, who won 60 races during the 1930s at Harold Park (then called Epping Raceway) and at Shepherd's Bush track, near Mascot.
Little wonder then that when Craig was in primary school he was the odd one out when his teacher asked pupils what they wanted to do when they grew up.
Craig's father Ken, who always accompanies his son to Wentworth Park, recalls: "Kids would jump up and say they wanted to be a plumber or a carpenter but Craig always raised a few eyebrows when he announced his ambition was to be a greyhound trainer.''
Another member of Craig's family tree, Bill Aldwell, the brother of his grandmother, was also a famous trainer.
Aldwell trained greyhounds for such known owners as champion jockeys Billy Cook and Jim Pike, who were inducted into thoroughbred racing's Hall Of Fame in 2002, with Pike riding Phar Lap to victory in the 1930 Melbourne Cup.
In the late 1970s Craig Chappelow's father Ken, who was in the Sydney police force's licensing squad, trained the marvelously versatile Fearless Flight, one of the few greyhounds to win over both the sprint and long distances at each of the Sydney metropolitan tracks, Harold and Wentworth Parks.
Ken and his wife Jan used to bundle Craig into a stroller most Saturday nights to watch Fearless Flight and his kennelmates like Radiant Whisk, Whiskette and Yaldara Prince in action, and now Craig regularly brings his family, wife Samantha and children Roxie, aged four, and three-year-old Josh to Wentworth Park.
"They were unable to attend last week when Embrace broke through for her first Wentworth Park win in six starts so I'm not sure if I should let them come this week,'' Craig quipped.
"It's obviously going to be hard for Embrace against this top class field on Saturday but I decided to put her in after she finished fast to win in 30.03 last week,'' Craig said.
"She has ability and had been unlucky in a few of her previous Wenty runs even though she had not managed to secure a placing.
"I think middle distance races, a bit further than the 520m of Saturday's Peter Mosman Opal heat, will be Embrace's 'go' and later on I'm hoping she might develop into a handy stayer.''
Whatever happens with Embrace on Saturday, it's wonderful to see a fourth generation Sydney trainer, who was a finalist for the 2000 TAB Young Trainer of the Year Award, continuing a family tradition in a race named in honour of the late Peter Mosman, one of the sport's great administrators.
