GIANT greyhound No More Bucks defied his inexperience to land a confident betting plunge when winning his Maiden at Wauchope on Saturday night.
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No More Bucks, a real "home bred", was bred and is raced and trained by Nabiac's Jean Lewis.
A son of Bye Bye Bucks-Vee Girl Vane, he weighs in at a giant 38.2 kilograms.
No More Bucks started a 4-5 favourite after as much as 5-2 was bet. A mystery Wauchope punter snapped up the odds close to the start of the race and watched as No More Bucks was never in doubt.
He led clearly from the boxes and held off a determined bid by Super Hoover to win in 22.40 seconds on a wet track scoring by a length and a quarter with four and three-quarter lengths to Robbie Special in third.
Jean Lewis' daughter Michelle bred and owns champion race dog and now sought-after stud dog My Bro Fabio.
It was Lewis and her husband Eddie who gave Michelle and her husband Michael Jones their Nabiac property on which to rear greyhounds.
"Eddie and I have been in dogs since 1992," Lewis said.
"We bred this dog. His sire Bye Bye Bucks was raced by our daughter, and we raced his mother Vee Girl Vane."
Vee Girl Vane is a litter sister to leading stud dog Vee Man Vane who the Lewises also raced with great success winning a country cup in Victoria and running a couple of track records.
"Vee Girl Vane had injury problems and by the time we had got her over those it was too late to race her," Lewis said.
"When her brother was so good we decided to breed with Vee Girl Vane and she has been a very good producer for us."
No More Bucks is the only pup Jean and Eddie kept from the litter by Bye Bye Bucks.
And he is one of only two dogs they have in their kennels.
The other is Lightest Touch, a son of Where's Pedro-Vee Girl Vane who won the rich Laurie Healion Maiden at The Gardens in 2014.
"He is recovering from a snake bite at the moment," Lewis said.
Of the future for No More Bucks, Lewis is confident.
"When he made his race debut (on December 26) he had never been against other dogs," she said.
"And tonight's race is only the second time he has been in a field.
"He's a good beginner but being such a big dog he will be suited best by big tracks like this."
Newcastle Knights "muscle man" John Munro shared in the success of Topper's Run (Dyna Lachlan-Magic Points) in a 384m Maiden on the night.
Debra Spurgin and her husband Wayne race the bitch who was winning her first race in four starts when she finished too well to score by a length over Heavenly Imp with a half head to Another Kainane in third.
The Spurgins have been friends with Munro and his wife Barbara for some time.
Munro bred Topper's Run and gave her to the Spurgins when she was 12 months old.
"We broke her in and she has always shown ability, but she has always shown she wants to run 500 metres or more," Wayne Spurgin said.
"We had nominated her for a 457 metre maiden tonight but there were not enough nominations for her to get a start over her preferred distance.
"She is a very poor beginner and no amount of box work seems to help. John rang us straight after the race and she 'you know she wants to run 600 metres'."
The Spurgins are aware a series of 600m races are coming up at The Gardens and Gosford for dogs that have won no more than two races. They will step Topper's Run up to that distance as soon as possible with those series the target.
"The bitch has been trialling very well and had no luck at all when fourth at Kempsey a week ago," said Spurgin.
Ricky Taffe continued his recent run of success when I'm A Rockstar brilliantly won a 3rd-4th Grade (384m) in a fast 21.80 seconds on the wet track.
The son of Oaks Road-Solve The Title was the first of a winning double for Taffe. Littermate Smoking Oaks won a 457m 4th-5th Grade later in the night.