Gilbert Begrudgingly Puts His Faith In Queenslander!

IPSWICH trainer Garry Gilbert likes a joke or two, but the former Northern Rivers-based Gilbert has had the joke on him of late.

Garry trains Queenslander (Orson Allen-You Angel You) who has won his past two starts over 520m at Ipswich and goes into a 5th Grade there on Thursday night drawn perfectly in the eight.

“Me being a New South Welshman and a rugby league fan, I'm not too happy to be training a dog named Queenslander,” said Garry.

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“But the dog can run and he's improving all the time so that makes up for it.”

Breeder and owner Gary Dodt has been mates with Gilbert for decades.

“I always watch the league, and when it came time to start naming this litter, I spotted Billy Moore on TV one day and thought the famous Queenslander catch cry would be great for a dog,” said Gary.

Gilbert has used the name for a few jokes of his own.

“I had him in early in his career and put him over the board at kennelling,” said Gilbert.

“The stewards asked me his name and I said race one number six, but I can't pronounce the name.

“Those Queensland stewards didn't see the funny side of that one.”

Queenslander looked all over a winner in a 366m Maiden at Capalaba in December leading to the final few strides before being run down on the line running second.

“I said to anyone who would listen, ‘typical Queenslander, he dropped the ball with the line wide open'. That didn't go down well with those Queenslanders either.”

Gilbert has learned to love him though.

“He's drawn well and Gary his owner has had some great wins on him at big odds in his two wins,” said Gilbert.

Gilbert has six of the litter in training and believes Queenslander only needs to find a bit extra strength at the end of his races to be a better than handy dog.

“At the moment the bitch She's In Clover is the best of them and she is very strong,” he said.

Dodt needed the urgent help of his wife Debbie and 27-year-old daughter Kiara to tube feed all 10 of the litter when they were born.

“The mother was supposed to have a Caesar but delivered one pup the day before,” said Dodt. “We thought he would struggle to survive, but he did.

“But, we needed to tube feed all 10 every two hours before the mother would take them on. She ended up being a great mother, but those first two weeks were a test for us all.”

That first pup, now racing as He's The Outlaw, has won two of three starts.

The Gilbert/Dodt combination has been winning races for more than a decade.

“Garry gets the one we think will make it,” said Dodt. “I get to play with the others.

“Garry gave us a bitch called Felicity Trick and she was our very first broodbitch back 10 years ago.

“We have only just lost her at age 14 a few months ago.”

Gary Dodt hopes upon hope that one day the canine Queenslander can make the State Of Origin series at Albion Park.

“That would be something else,” he said.