Simon Rhodes, a highly successful professional trainer for 28 years, has dropped a bombshell by quitting the sport to spend more time with his family.
A former NSW Young Trainer of the Year award recipient and winner of the Dapto trainers' premiership for seven of the past eight years, Rhodes has found new kennels for his 25 greyhounds, all owned by famous breeder Brendan Wheeler.
Rhodes explained: "The property I'm on at Bargo is being sold so I had a choice of setting up elsewhere or getting out of professional training and seeking a job.
"I've taken a full time job and want to spend more time with my family, wife Sam, who I met through the greyhounds when she worked for the National Coursing Association and at WYONG track, and children Chloe, Harry, Maddie and Hamish.
"Harry, who is 15, is a very good soccer player but when he played in an important tournament at Dubbo recently I couldn't watch him because of my greyhound racing commitments.
"He is off to Bathurst next weekend for another competition and this time I'll be able to go.
"I'm not saying I will never have another dog, I might get one or two later on, but I won't go as big as I have been over the past few years.''
Rhodes, 45, said his biggest win was with Super Bucks in the 2007 Bulli Gold Plate while he got a special thrill when his Neville Brown-owned sprinter Darcy Nimbus broke the Nowra track record.
"Fastest dog I've trained was Best And Bold but he broke down before fulfilling his promise while my favourite was undoubtedly Boo Boo Magoo, who won over every distance at Bulli,'' Rhodes said.
Simon Rhodes won the Dapto trainers' premiership seven times over the past eight years.
The Darren Sultana-trained Shall Not is considered to have Saturday's $25,000 to the winner Richmond Straight Track Cup in his keeping but Grafton conditioner Stephen Keep gives his finalists Sal's Blue Boy and All Lies Ahead good chances of preventing the favourite notching his ninth successive win at the track.
Shall Not, who has drawn box eight in the 324m final, defeated Sal's Blue Boy in his heat 17.34 while All Lies Ahead exited box two but lost ground veering to the opposite side of the course before winning in 17.60.
"There is nothing between my pair and I expect them to be improved by their heat runs,'' Stephen Keep said.
"They were only having their second starts at Richmond and while Shall Not seems to have been there 400 times he is not unbeatable.''
Sal's Blue Boy and All Lies Ahead, sons of the Maitland 400m record holder Precious Sal, boast impressive strike rates.
Sal's Blue Boy has won 15 of 37 starts while his litter brother All Lies Ahead has won 12 from 43, although those tallies pale in comparison with Shall Not's astonishing 39 victories from 59 appearances.
Sentimental favourite will be Express Ethics, whose trainer David Smith is unable to attend race meetings while recovering from a serious eye operation.
