Authorities Go Cold On Greyhound Name

VICTORIAN greyhound Corona Cold, winner of his last three racetrack appearances in dazzling fashion, has had a surprise name change.

His new moniker?

The apt, Stay At Home.

Raced by The Dynasty Syndicate and trained by Chris Johannsen, the one-time Corona Cold extended his winning sequence to three at Sale on Sunday, expanding on his already cult-like status.

"The owners rang me this morning to say GRV had asked them to change the name given the circumstances," Johannsen said.

"The irony of it is they named him after me loving a cold Corona beer … you couldn't have ever imagined it would have turned out like this."

 

Adding only further irony to the situation is that the son of Barcia Bale and Gangbusters only began hitting his traps mid-March, just when the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold here in Australia.

Before going on his winning stretch, the now Stay At Home had raced on seven occasions for just the three minor placings.

"He's taken a while to learn what it's all about but he's finding his feet now," Johannsen said.

"The owners were fine with changing his name after the call from GRV.

"But I can't tell you how many people have told me they've thrown something on him the last few weeks because of his name. It won't be good for turnover."

When discussing today's change it reminded Johannsen of a previous greyhound he had in his care that received a sudden change of name.

"Years back I had a dog called Skinned racing," Johannsen recalled.

"He was racing at Sandown one night and drew box four. Race-caller Rob Testa soon put the pieces together and …"

For those playing at home, we'll let you fill in the gaps.