Dennis Barnes has seen thousands of greyhound races, which means he’s seen just as many bookies markets.
So, when he says Nangar Rocket doesn’t warrant favouritism for Saturday night’s $125,000 Ladbrokes Country Classic, it might pay to listen.
“I thought he’d be second or third favourite to be honest…I thought Palawa [King] deserved to be favourite but I’m glad people think like that anyway,” Barnes admitted.
Nangar Rocket is a $2.50 chance with Ladbrokes after he bounced out of the lids on semi-final night and clocked the quickest qualifying time of 34.62.
The 19-time winner set to jump from Box 4 in the final, with his stiffest competition likely to come from multiple Group 1 winner Palawa King ($3 with Ladbrokes), Temora track record holder Bella Una ($7) and the Jay Opetaia-trained Agland Luai ($7.50).
“You’re always hopeful they go a little bit better and he has gone a little bit better in the past (a PB of 34.54). I think if he can repeat that run, he’ll be right in it...he’s feeling good, he’s jumping out of his skin, so it’s all up to him now,” an excited Barnes said on Thursday.
The 71-year-old hopeful his charge is over a series of stuttering starts that saw him “stuff up” three of his last five outings.
“You’re standing right behind the boxes when they come out, so for the first few strides you can’t see a thing and my mouth bloody opened and my bottom jaw nearly dropped off when I saw him come out at The Gardens like that,” Barnes said.
“All I think it is…I had him a bit fresh up in Brisbane and Casino and as he’s getting older, he’s getting very excitable. He was calm as anything in his early days, you could drive him all over the place and he’d just lie there but now he knows when you’re about a block or two away from a track he’s been to before.”
“He’s up and he’s barking and going on, he’s just getting excited. I think I was going a little bit easy on him, trying to ease him into it hoping he’d get to the front, and I think it’s the worst thing I could have done.”
“Since I came back from Grafton I’ve worked him back to my old schedule, he has a run up the straight track three or four times a week and it seemed to work on Saturday.”
The veteran mentor also keeping a close eye on his former kennelmates in Bulli Cup winner Nangar Larry and Maitland and Temora Cup champ, Nangar Jim.
Nangar Larry's 2024 Bulli Cup victory was sealed with a kiss by trainer Hayley Moffitt
Barnes admitting he “Cheers as hard as anyone” whenever the pair run for their new connections.
“We know we can’t keep them all, we’re four or five hours away from the Wenty track…our local track is Dubbo and we’re not getting any younger so we just keep a few and sell the others, it doesn’t worry us that they go on to win,” he said.
“It’s all good for us and we cheer as much as the owners that have got them now…Joe [McFadyen] is doing a fantastic job and we all know how good Andy [Lord] is, he’s master trainer.”
“The money was right at the time and we had a few too many, that’s the way it is. I keep my brood bitches, I wont sell them, I’ve been offered good money for those and I wont sell them but they [Nangar Larry and Nangar Jim] were dogs and we can’t hang onto them.”
As for Barnes’ best bets around the State over the coming days.
“I think Nangar Gypsy at Wentworth Park will go well. I think Nangar Lucy will go alright…I think Lucy is boxed good and Gypsy has a bit of early pace and can overcome that Box 6,” he added.
The final of the Ladbrokes Country Classic, worth $125,000 to the winner, will be run at 8:52pm on Saturday night at Dubbo.
