Caption: Trainer Ben Rawlings and outstanding stayer Bogie Bekim with media personality Dave Carlson after victory in the 2017 Top Gun Stayers (730m) at The Meadows.
By MIKE HILL
PREMIER South Australian trainer Ben Rawlings rates the Les Bein-owned Group 1-winning stayer Bogie Bekim as the best dog he’s put a rug on.
Rawlings, whom we feature this month in The Trainer‘s column, has just completed a stellar season, winning the Gawler trainers’ premiership, finishing third at Adelaide’s Angle Park behind Tony Rasmussen as well as placing 15th on the national trainers’ points table with 191 wins for the year.
“I think it was my best year ever as far as wins go and more pleasing was the fact we were able to push our winning strike rate back up to near 30 per cent,” he said.
The young Lewiston-based (near Gawler) conditioner achieved a 30 per cent WSR in 2016 and 31 per cent the following year before a run of mid-20s up to 2022.
Rawlings, who has been around greyhounds all his life, ended last year with a 29 per cent WSR, better than any other trainer in the national top 20.
“It was very pleasing to get the strike rate back up,” he said.
“I like to try to place my dogs where I feel they can win.”
He admits he currently doesn’t have a high-profile chaser in his kennels after promising sprinter Top Quality broke a hock in his seventh run for the trainer in mid-November.
The Barcia Bale-All Quality blue-fawn sprinter arrived from NSW in early September and quickly displayed his potential winning first-up for Rawlings a few weeks later in a heat of the G1 Adelaide Cup (530m) at Angle Park before finishing fifth behind Buzz Junkie in the final.
He then produced two BOM runs, 30.63s (531m) at Gawler and 30.28s (530m) at Angle Park, and “was just starting to get into the groove” when tragedy struck.
“At the moment we have some solid, good dogs and some young ones coming through,” said Rawlings, who has 24 racers in work as well as a group of 10 or so young chasers.
He said Bogie Bekim had given him some of his greatest moments on the track during 2017.
A wonderful stayer, the black son of Bekim Bale and Bogie Skye qualified for six Group finals, winning the G1 Galaxy (715m) at Perth’s Cannington track early in the year before running down the mighty Fanta Bale to claim the G2 Top Gun Stayers (730m) at The Meadows eight months later.
In between he finished a gallant second to Trip To Eden in the G1 Association Cup (720m) at Wentworth Park after winning his heat in 41.96s – “the fastest time clocked that year”.
“He was something else,” the trainer said.
“No matter where we went, he could run time.”
And while Bogie Bekim’s on-track deeds resonated strongly with Rawlings, Bein, the current chairman of the Brisbane Greyhound Racing Club and a long-time high-profile owner-breeder, was full of praise for his trainer after the Galaxy victory.
“Ben’s a sensational young trainer, ” he said at the time.
And over the years the Bein-Rawlings combination has had its share of successes, winning the Gawler Cup with Bogie Magic and placing second in the G1 Adelaide Cup with Bogie Bullet, while the trainer also won the 2019 G2 All Stars Sprint in Perth with South Australian GOTY Alicante Bouchet, owned by his sister Meg.
Now in his early 30s, Rawlings works closely with his Dad Neil, who’s been in the game all his life, at their Lewiston operation.
“We bounce things off each other. It works quite well,” he said.
Ben recalls catching the training bug when he was about 17.
“Dad and Mum’s parents had greyhounds and one of Dad’s brothers also had dogs and he would bring a couple in from the country to race in town,” he said.
“I got interested and one dog led to three and then 10 until we got to where we are today.”
Rawlings admits he is contemplating taking a half-step back this year to devote more time to his young family.
He and his partner Ashleigh have two young daughters aged four and five.
Ben said he wanted to have more family time together, which may result in a slight reduction in kennel numbers.
“The girls adore the dogs and Emersyn, five, loves to help and wants to do more with the dogs,” the proud dad said.
1: How and when did you get involved in greyhound racing?
A: My family had been in it for a while. We had dogs when I was very young, four or five, and then got out until I was around 17. My uncle, who was still training, had a couple he would bring to town from Whyalla. I said to Dad we should clean out the kennels and get a dog … and so it began.
2: Who has been the greatest influence on you as a trainer?
A: Troy Murray in Adelaide and Ryan Ayre from Queensland both taught me a lot. Dad obviously had a long background in dogs, but had been out a few years and I had some ideas of my own about training when we started.
3: At what age do you start preparing a pup for racing?
A: We break in our own now. Dad does most of that side but it’s a reasonably set program that we stick to. Bullring work once a month from about eight months old.
4: How long does it take to prepare a pup for its first race?
A: Depends on the pup. Some come to hand quickly, some take time. It’s just about knowing the dog and given how we break our own in, we can maintain the progress of the pup and change the plan accordingly.
5: What makes a good pup?
A: Luck. There’s no blueprint for it. Try to find a program that works, put in the time and the work, and then hope they turn into racing prospects
6: Do you do anything special when preparing a young dog for its maiden compared to a seasoned performer?
A: Not really. Again it’s dependant on the dog. Some pups are pros from the get-go and some you can tell are going to be long-term projects.
7: Do you have a set routine for all your greyhounds or do you vary training for individual runners?
A: We have a base routine, which includes walking machines and galloping. We mix things up as far as frequency, based on how the dog has been racing or trialling.
8: Do you have any unique or unusual methods you would like to share in regard to training?
A: No.
9: Do you swim your dogs as part of your training regime?
A: No.
10: How frequently do you like to race your dogs?
A: Once a week. Very rarely we will race twice in a week.
11: What’s your training routine for dogs between races?
A: Our general routine is walking machine every day unless free galloping. Day of race and day after race no walking machine. As stated above we play with this schedule.
12: Do you do all muscle work on your dogs and treat all injuries?
A: We check all the dogs at home and do treatments. We also use John Katakasi, our local vet, whom I regard as one of the best greyhound people I have ever seen.
13: Do you do treat all injuries to your dogs yourself?
A: Yes, Dad and I.
14: Which is the best greyhound you have trained?
A: Bogie Bekim.
15: What do you consider is the best greyhound track in Australia and why?
A: I really liked the old Angle Park. I’m not a huge fan of the newly renovated track. I do like racing at Cannington as we have had a lot of success when we have gone there.
16: What does the industry need most going forward?
A: In SA, we need prizemoney increases and better promotion of week-to-week racing.
17: What is the best advice you could give someone just starting out as a trainer?
A: Ask for advice but also back yourself. A lot of greyhound training could be worked out with some general common sense. It’s how much you are willing to put in and back yourself that will take you further.
