By Mike Hill

PETER Hare has been involved in greyhound racing for more than four decades and admits he\’s been very lucky.

Originally from Rockhampton and now living at Yengarie, near Maryborough, he\’s been a trainer, owner and bookmaker, besides other ventures.

\”And I\’ve been lucky to have some top greyhounds over the years,\” he said.

One of the first really good dogs he was associated with as an owner was the Tony Zammit-trained No It\’s Not back in the 90s.

\”I had a quarter share and he won the Group 1 Coca Cola Bottlers Cup at the Gabba in 1991,\” Hare said.

Then after being away from the sport for a decade or so, he decided to get back into the ownership caper.

And again luck was on his side when he bought  a pup from Steve Martin at Bundaberg.

\”I had intended to buy a black bitch but came home with a fawn dog,\” he said.

\”Racing as Gelantipy Gold and trained by Mick and Selena Zammit, he turned out to be the best in the litter, winning more than $110,000 in prizemoney.\”

A multi-Group finalist, the fawn chaser finished his career with 22 victories over sprint and middle distances, including the Clem Jones Cup, and was placed 35 times.

Luck again followed Hare when he bought his next pup – a member of a Zambora  Brockie-Lilly Sur Seine litter bred by Russell Farrell at Maryborough.

However,  his choice was limited – there was only one pup left.

Of course he bought it and it\’s now racing as Stinger Noir.

Again under the guidance of the Zammits, the black sprinter has already collected 22 wins and more than $115,000 for his owner.

\”The whole litter is very smart,\” said Hare.

\”It includes Sequana, No Easy Beat and Made In America and collectively they\’ve won about $250,000.\”

Although he has chosen his most recent smart chasers, Pete\’s  quick to heap praise on owner-trainer Kevin Bryant.

\”I owe him a big thank-you,\” he said.

\”It was Kevin who suggested that I take a look at the litter comprising Gelantipy Gold.

\”He lives near me and had raced the litter\’s mother – the smart bitch El Fooling (she won 23 of 34 starts).

\”Then a bit later he encouraged me to have a look at Lilly Sur Seine\’s first litter.

\”Kevin knew the breed well, he had trained the brood bitch\’s litter brother, the outstanding stayer Big Easy Red.

\”Although \’Lilly\’ didn\’t race – she broke a leg before she could get to the track – she was considered the best of the litter.

\”That pup became Stinger Noir.

\”So, you can see, I owe Kevin heaps.\”

But things don\’t stop there.

Hare has another Zambora Brockie pup being broken in at present and \’the signs are promising\’.

\”I also have high hopes for a seven-month-old Cosmic Rumble-Lantana Lass bitch,\” he said.

Hare admitted life was a little less stressful  these days than the hectic time he spent on his bookie stand .

\”I was a bookmaker for about 25 years in Rockhampton, Gladstone and Mackay, fielding on the horses, trots and greyhounds,\” he said.

\”When I first started bookmaking on the dogs, the late Dave Brett was the president of the Mackay Greyhound Club and his son Tony (now considered one of the leading trainers in the country) was only a young fella.\”

While living in Mackay, Hare started training his own dogs with significant success.

One of his outstanding sprinters was Perkel Fox … it went on to win 30 races and held three track records.

The sprinter was also crowned Greyhound of the Year as were another two of Hare\’s good chasers Many Winds and Glass Eye.

He remembers another good sprinter he had – Hope\’s Love.

\”A mate in Brisbane sold me the bitch for $500 and she went on to win her first eight starts for me. She also broke the 460m record at Mackay,\” Hare recalls.

\”I had another dog called Our Boy Zac, which I was talked into taking.

\”He only had one win in 33 starts – a maiden at Beenleigh – but he turned out to be a good dog for us, winning 10 of 14 starts at Mackay.

\”I think if you really look after your dogs, feed them well and put the time in, they will respond.\”

As an owner, Hare has two dogs racing at present – Stinger Noir with the Zammits and the up-and-coming Prince Cosmic with Ricky Hassall – and says he hasn\’t given up thoughts of returning to the lead and collar.

\”My wife Debra will probably go back to training with me when we retire, \” he said.

\”However, at the moment we are happy with everything that is happening , just looking after our farm and our stud droughtmaster cows.

\”But with a surname like Hare how could we miss out in the greyhound industry.\”