What do you get when a country girl, who grew up on the famous Birdsville Track in outback Australia, meets a city slicker who spent his childhood hanging around the beaches of Bondi?
A boutique greyhound whelping, rearing and training operation of course.
And it’s one Vadim Roz and Michelle Moon are hoping to expand after relocating from South Australia to Tomingley, 50 kilometres outside Dubbo, in search of greater opportunity.
“We were running Yarramundi Racing together in SA where we whelp, rear, break in, pre train and train greyhounds once they get to the track,” Roz said.
“It’s only a small operation but we’ve got a really strong clientele, it’s always pretty much full and when we get new people in and they see how we operate, they don’t want to leave.”
“We had a nice property in Lewiston but it was a little bit small so when this place came up near Dubbo, I said to Michelle, “it’s worth having a look at”. We agreed there might be more opportunities in NSW to grow the business so that’s why we made the move.”
Roz, 43, has been in the dog game since gaining his trainers license at the turn of the millennium.
“I really started getting into it when I was 20-years-old. Bondi was a bit different back then but I was always just a guy with a few dogs in suburbia,” Roz said.
“I was a full-time courier seven days a week as well but someone asked me to move to South Australia to take over a big kennel of greyhounds. I wasn’t really sure about having 60 dogs under my care but I did it and that’s what kickstarted this career,” he added.
While Moon ‘s path into the sport was a little different.
“I grew up on cattle stations where it was a good few hours to the local pub for a coldie. You worked hard daylight to dark, driving cattle, riding horses and motorbikes and then you used to like catching up with the other stations to have a few Bundaberg rums or beers,” Moon laughed
“I eventually moved to Lewiston [just north of Adelaide] and made friends in the dog industry. I started helping Judi Hurley with her pups and that’s where I met ‘Vad’ as well. I was a cattle dog girl but once I got to know greyhounds, it’s like they can look into your soul almost.”
The duo building their business model on the back of transparency, trust and care.
“We want our owners to enjoy the experience of greyhound racing as much as we do,” Roz said.
“Whether that’s helping them understand the ability of a dog and the improvements we are trying to make, filming their trials or work at home, or updating them on their general health and wellbeing. We want them to have a greyhound education and have fun too.”
The team already enjoying some success in their new surroundings, with Who Knows Gus knocking off Palawa King in a heat of the Group 2 Ladbrokes Brother FOX on Saturday night.
“I thought ‘Gus’ could run that time so I wasn’t surprised but I didn’t have him leading like that,” Roz said after the boil over.
“There was a bit of trouble on the corner which allowed him to get away from them but he’s a very good chaser and can rattle off some really good sectionals.”
“I wouldn’t say he is a top-level group dog that you can take to a track with confidence all the time, but he’s a nice pup and I think he’s got enough ability to win a decent race…I just don’t know if it’s this one.”
“He’s drawn Box 5 and I can’t perform miracles and I’m not a magician so I just can’t see him getting into the race from there. I think Bella Una in Box 1 is almost a certainty, but we’ll see.”
Meanwhile, kennel mate NITRO NEO will have to overcome a hot field if he’s to claim the $20,000-to-the-winner Bill & Peg Miller final.
“He’s just a consistent dog that always puts his best effort in,” Moon added.
He’s the most chilled dog you’ll ever come across at home and he tries every time we take him to the track. If he can jump a bit better, that would definitely help from Box 7 but it will be tough for him.”
Roz and Moon both looking forward to being involved in one of Dubbo’s biggest nights despite the plethora of quality greyhounds and trainers set to line up around them.
“It’s not intimidating because the people are so lovely,” Moon said.
“I’m not a bold person at the track so you never know what a new community will be like, but everyone out here has been so helpful and welcoming. There’s not one person in the Dubbo community that hasn’t been awesome. They put on a great race meeting as well and it’s always a good turnout.”
“There’s no doubt it’s a stronghold of sorts and a very hard place to win races,” Roz added.
“Dennis Barnes is here, Jack Smith, the Keeping dogs, Greg Board, Paul Braddon…you’re turning up at the track and racing some of the fastest dogs these great trainers have had. It could be one of the hardest tracks to win races in NSW.”
“But Michelle and I have done the hard yards to get to this point and we can’t wait for Saturday night. We’ve got a great partnership that works really well. Michelle plays an integral role in our business and even though she flies under the radar a bit more, she loves the dogs and is so important to what we do.”
The Group 2 Ladbrokes Brother FOX final, worth $50,000-to-the-winner, headlines a massive night of chasing at Dawson Park on Saturday night.
The Bill & Peg Miller Memorial, Zipping Kyrgios Mega Maiden and Feral Franky Future Stars finals will also be run and won.
