Written by James Van de Maat
On a cold autumn Sunday afternoon at Healesville – Mother’s Day to be precise, the nerves were building for star trainer Karen Pitt, but it wasn’t for the often common reason of having a key player in a group final.
Her ‘boy’ Jax (ROLLING STONE) was about to make his return to racing after almost a year and a half on the sidelines, a return that at times never looked likely.
Karen’s “four legged son” Rolling Stone had bust onto the scene with a 8 wins from his first 19 starts before sustaining an injury to his back.
An MRI was required to diagnose a disc (in his back) injury followed then by the decision to use Stem Cell treatment.
At this point in time, a return to racing was far from the expectation, but more a mere hopeful dream as ‘Jax’ absolutely loved to race.
With the assistance of some of Victoria’s leading vets and advice from many, including one of Australia’s greatest conditions Kel Greenough, the long road back to the race track was heading in the right direction.
After a few setbacks, the time had come for Rolling Stone to make his long awaited return. He was nominated for the Rod Thorneycroft memorial G5 heats over the 350 metre trip at Healesville.
Having drawn box two, he was sent off the market elect as the runner to beat ($2.30f), but for Karen, she couldn’t care less about the result.
“I was just so proud and happy to see my boy doing what he loves.”
After a moderate start, Rolling Stone was very quick to assert his class before powering to a four and a half-length victory in 19.38.
“We’ve won group races before, but that without any doubt this would be the best moment of my training career. When I looked into those big brown eyes and saw that tail wagging, I’ll never forget that moment!”
“We’ve won group races before, but without any doubt this would be the best moment of my training career. When I looked into those big brown eyes and saw that tail wagging, I’ll never forget that moment!”
“To happen on mother’s day too! Since he was a pup I’ve joked he’s my four legged son, it was fitting.”
Karen would like to make a mention to everybody who helped along the road back to the races with Rolling Stone.
This is a story about the persistence, patience and love for the greyhounds themselves. Let’s hope this emotional journey keeps on rolling into success!
