Decisions

Greyhound breeders make them every day. Which female does one breed? What sire will work best with her? What track best suits their pups? Most of these decisions are carefully thought out, but sometimes a whim or a hunch changes everything.

In Australia in January 1937, Joe Kelly was eager to get started in greyhound racing. He wanted a female he could race and eventually breed, and made the sensible decision to inquire by phone about a litter bred by H. L. "Tony" Taylor, by Pride Of The Valley, one of the top sires of the day, out of Maudie Francis, a granddaughter of the coursing great Frances Colleen. When Taylor agreed to sell a bitch puppy, Kelly asked about their colors and chose the lone brindle.

When he arrived at Taylor's kennel to take the pup home, it turned out that she was the least attractive of the lot, "the weed of the litter" as Taylor described her. He offered another pup instead, but Kelly picked up the brindle female with the intention of keeping her. He had made a decision and was going to stick to it. As he was leaving it was mentioned that around the kennel she had a name, "Weedy Valley." Kelly kept the name and with it she raced into the annals of New South Wales racing history. Her litter, which included Nicotine, Capertee Valley, Dolly Francis, Little Valley and Francis Pride raced from success to success. A second litter of Pride of the Valley and Maudie Francis produced Drindell, another pup purchased by Kelly, who became one of the great stayers of her day.

Little did he know at the time, but the end of Weedy Valley's racing career in August of 1941 was really the beginning of the story for Joe Kelly. She started her brood career with a litter by Pharminda in September of 1942 followed by a repeat breeding twelve months later. From these came a number of stars including Daisy Valley, Sparkling Comet, Alt Ayr, Flying Marvel, Pussy Willow, Minda Valley, Bronze Edge, Spearlight, Black Carpet, Pierre Boy, and Val Phar. Kelly bred Daisy Valley to the outstanding sire Roccabright, producing a litter that included Be Faithful who compiled a career record of 39 wins and 11 track records in 53 starts. Others included Be Truthful, Embrose, Valley Double, Miss Kelly, Cheeky Valley, Celtux, Daisy Bright, Lazy Boots, Tux and Daisy Rock.

Kelly's good fortune seemed limitless, but at the point where descendants of Weedy Valley seemed at their most prominent, disaster struck. A bout of distemper swept through his kennel and wiped out his entire breeding program with the exception of Daisy Rock who barely survived, though blinded by the sickness. Kelly was forced to start from scratch and he bred his blind brood to the great Chief Havoc. The resulting litter included Winsome Flash, Meropa, Flash Daisy, The Shelf, Chief Bearcaire, and Gorgeous Babe. The latter was retired early, and while most of her littermates were still racing, Gorgeous Babe would be rewriting greyhound history in the whelping barn instead of at the track. She was bred to Tumble Bug son Rocket Jet and her first litter produced Magic Babe, Sky Jet, Metal Jet, Magic Joe, Weedy Jet, Rocket Zoom, Roman Jet, Early Jet, Weedy Babe and Rocka Cashel. The litter soon gained national attention from the racing press while the second was nearing track age. When the second litter hit the track, led by Tell You Why, Light Jet, Glamorous Babe, Gleaming Jet, Cindy Jet, Jenny Ann and Jetalbet, it was rated by the experts as highly as the first.

More Rocket Jet and Gorgeous Babe pups followed including Gemdelina, Gay Glint, Boeing Jet, Rocky Ben, Junglet Jet, Black Omo, Whata Doll, and Tana Jet. Magic Babe went on to an outstanding career at stud. For succeeding generations, his most important contribution was the outstanding brood Elsie Moss whose sons and daughters produced on an almost unprecedented scale. Not surprisingly, Magic Babe is found twice in the pedigree of Temlee, arguably the greatest sire in Australian history. Gemdelina, bred to Irish import Which Chariot*, produced Takiri, Unique Sea, London Lad, Which Gem, Marr William, and Miss Which, while Gay Glint produced a terrific litter to Black Top. Gay Glint is the direct female line ancestor of contemporary greats Token Prince, Just The Best, Flying Amy and Tenthill Doll. Marr William, a champion stayer, was exported to the U.S. where he gained a reputation as an outstanding producer of females, including 1971 All America Shur Lilly and a number of outstanding broods.

In America, Harold Shugart, a great admirer of Australian pedigrees, imported Metal Jet, Sky Jet and Tell You Why. Metal Jet's early passing was a tragedy for the breed, but not before he produced Haiku, dam of All America Bahama Lure; and Kitty Hoss, foundation dam of Fred Scoggin's "S.S." dynasty. Tell You Why*, Shugart's most successful import, rewrote the record books. Westy Whizzer, Miss Gorgeous, Cactus Lonesome, Onie Jones, K's Flak, Oshkosh Racey, Downing, and many others owe their success directly to Tell You Why*. Indeed, his grandson Sand Man* was exported to Ireland where he changed the shape of the breed there just as descendants of Temlee would again two decades later.

Joe Kelly's decision, seemingly made on a whim, was one that affects everyone in greyhound racing today. It's inconceivable to think of this breed without the influence of Weedy Valley's progeny. And there are still some lessons for us all; he bought a puppy by a proven sire out of an outstanding damline from a reputable breeder. It seems like a simple recipe for success, but how many times does one see even experienced greyhound buyers forget one of its ingredients?