Drinks All Round After Costosa Breaks Through

A couple of ‘çrook' knees might have slowed Wayne Sugars down a little yet the Bargo trainer had a real spring in his step after Costosa saluted at Dapto on Thursday night.

Maiden wins at Dapto over 297m generally pass without fanfare but this first victory for the regally bred youngster meant a lot to the retired plumber.

"Annie (Costosa) is owned by a syndicate of mates from Wagga and it's their first dog," Sugars explained.

"She'd had seven starts for five seconds before the Dapto win and I know first-hand, whatever pub they occupied, it would have been fun to be at.

"Geez they love a drink – they all arrived at Nowra for one of her 365m starts and bar sales probably tripled – she finished second that night but that did not dampen spirits."

Sugars relocated to semi-rural Bargo in 2020 just months after his wife Lee-Anne passed away following a very brief illness.

The former plumber now resides within a 90-minute drive from six tracks (Bulli, Dapto, Goulburn, Wentworth Park, Nowra and Richmond) while Appin is just a half-hour away.

"I'd lived in suburban Sydney all my life, at Milperra and Revesby before Voyager Point but this is the right setting for me and the dogs now," the hugely popular Sugars said.

"Costosa has terrific speed yet she's really bred to get over more ground.

"Her mum Sherbini had rare ability and her first litter (by Ritza Lenny) has been very successful but this second lot look really special.

"The boys had the pick of the entire litter and while Scintillate, Showpiece, Sorority, She Zany, Shrouded and It's Got Legs have all won on city tracks already, I think she will get there in time.

"After a foot injury at Richmond in August, I gave her some time off and she's put on a little muscle and she's matured a lot."

While Costosa might be a jump-and-run type, many of her siblings are showing mum's back-end strength.

"Scintillate has won four in a row since stepping up in distance and has run the second fastest time ever at Ipswich over 630m," Sugars continued.

"The boys are really engaged in greyhound racing, I've got a smart pup for them by Aston Kimetto and their two Superior Panama – Sherbini pups are booked to be broken in in December.

"Whatever pub or club they watched the Dapto race at would have run out of beer I'm sure! I'm delighted for them and just hope they can function okay today."

Pawnote: Scintillate steps out at Casino over 620m in Race Seven on Friday, seeking to extend her winning sequence to five.