He went from being a Group 1 winner one Friday to an injury enforced retirement the following Friday. The outstanding career of the multiple Group 1 and high strike rate winner Bigtime Paddy came to an end at the Hatrick Raceway on August 17.
Pictured: Bigtime Paddy following his first Group 1 race victory – the 2017 Waterloo Cup
An incident on the first turn saw Bigtime Paddy abruptly pulling up with what was later revealed as a ruptured crucial ligament. It was the 40th occasion that Paddy had exited from the Hatrick 520m traps. The previous 39 occasions the 31.5kg greyhound had skilfully negotiated the first turn. It wasn’t to be this time around which now sees Bigtime Paddy being prepared for a stud career.
The Lisa Cole mentored Bigtime Paddy enjoyed a brilliant 2017/18 racing season for his owners Lisa Cole and Craig Rendle. Over the season he qualified for and contested eight Group 1 finals of nine Group 1 races available to him. The only Group 1 race Paddy didn’t contest was the New Zealand Cup owing to him being in Melbourne at the time. He won two of those, finished second in another two, plus he had a third place finish.
That third placing came in the first Group 1 event for the season, the Wanganui Cup, when as a youngster Paddy provided a glimpse of what was to follow. His last victory came in the new season’s first Group 1 final, appropriately being the Wanganui Cup final.
Bigtime Paddy commenced his racing career in March 2017. By the end of that racing season he had attained open class status. It was on 1 October when Bigtime Paddy landed his first Group 1 title when he stylishly won the Waterloo Cup at the Manukau Stadium. That victory earned him direct entry in a heat for the world’s richest greyhound race, the A$600,000 Melbourne Cup. He went onto to run a creditable fourth in his Sandown Park 515m heat. Just prior to crossing the Tasman he had stylishly won his local $6,245 Manawatu Cup over 457m.
On his return home he finished fourth in the Spion Rose Cup final, which was followed by a third placing in January’s Group 2 Waikato Classic final at the Cambridge Raceway. Three weeks later Bigtime Paddy was beaten by the barest possible margin in the Hatrick Classic final. He then qualified for, but then endured a luckless traffic impeded race in the Auckland Cup final.
Group 1 success was to follow back at Cambridge in where in late March he annexed victory in the New Zealand Derby over 457m. A string of Hatrick open class 520m wins came his way prior to another hampered racing passage in the Group 1 New Zealand Futurity final at the same venue. A second placing to a kennel mate followed in the New Zealand Breeders’ Stakes decider. Bigtime Paddy concluded his season with his stunning victory in the late July $60,000 Formpro Amazing Chasing 520m match race series.
Bigtime Paddy with Max, Brendon, Georgie Cole, plus co-owner Craig Rendle after his Waterloo Cup success; Brendon Cole and daughters Ella and Georgie with Bigtime Paddy following his Formpro Amazing Chase victory; Bigtime Paddy’s last win came in the August 10 Group 1 Wanganui Cup
Bigtime Paddy concludes his stellar career after 81 races. He won 44 of those, plus he was placed on a further 22 races. The son of Kilty Lad and Romberg Lass won a tidy $220,233 in stake earnings (excluding Breeders bonus payments).
“It was Paddy’s hard chasing tenaciously that stood him out. His desire to win was amazing. He had the complete skill set – his DNA is what you want for a top class greyhound. He could win open class races from in front and also when coming from behind. It was a privilege to race Bigtime Paddy,” stated Craig Rendle.
“It was a freak incident that occurred. He had been in similar field positions before and came away unscratched – just a millimetre either way and he would have been okay. I guess that’s racing though. He was an elite athlete who was kept healthy throughout his career by Lisa and Brendon - he was one of the family. Paddy can now enjoy his retirement and make baby puppies,” added Rendle.
Brendon Cole rated Bigtime Paddy right up there with the very best greyhounds they have placed collars and leads on, including the GRNZ Hall of Fame greyhound Little Mother. “Paddy turned into a once in a lifetime dog.” Brendon tells us how Bigtime Paddy received his Paddy name.
“I went on a tour of Ireland with a number of leading Australian greyhound breeders. I met up with one of their leading trainers Pat Buckley – I learnt a lot from him. Later his son Jack came out and stayed with us. I was breaking in Bigtime Paddy at the time and decided to give an Irish name. “I asked Jack and he said to me, ‘you call everyone in Ireland Paddy’ – hence his racing name. We were all very fortunate to be associated with people like them.”
It certainly wasn’t the best of racing weeks for the Cole kennels as earlier the same week they also lost the racing services of another classy greyhound Allegro Gun with a torn gracilis muscle injury.
This Cole bred son of Spring Gun and Hifi Allegro also enjoyed a stellular racing career for his owners Cyril and Robyn Evans. He was a model of consistency having successfully mixed short course sprinting with middle distance racing at the elite level.
Allegro Gun’s career highlight came when he lowered the Hatrick 305m track record in December 2016. He completed that dash in a searing 17.07s and that time still stands today. His biggest success came when he stylishly won the 2017 $15,000 North Island Challenge Stakes at Group 2 level. The biggest stake he won came via his second placing over 520m in the 2017 Group 1 New Zealand Breeders’ Stake where he picked up $9,500.
Allegro Gun completes his racing career with 45 wins beside his name. He placed on a further 32 occasions and his 120 race day outings yielded his connections with $120,875 (excluding Breeders’ bonus payments). He will also be made available at a stud dog.
Allegro Gun with his owner Cyril Evans and Brendon Cole following his 2017 North Island Challenge Stakes victory; Allegro Gun after winning a heat for the 2017 Railway Sprint; Brendon Cole and his son Monty with Allegro Gun after another Hatrick 305m win
By Peter Fenemor
*Footnote: Bigtime Paddy has been named the 'Middle Distance Greyhound of the Year' for 2017-18. Congratulations to all Bigtime Paddy and all his connections.
