Kanzan's 'Smart' Long Distance Debut

JOHN Smart, the Camden greyhound trainer who was once the strapper of champion thoroughbred Octagonal, continued his successful association with an equine connection when Kanzan made a one act affair of her long-distance debut at Wentworth Park yesterday week.

Named after the former dual group winning racehorse from the Peter Snowden stable, Kanzan led throughout to win by four lengths, covering the 720m in a nippy 42.53sec.
Although she appeared to ease going through the catching pen – a common occurrence for greyhounds accustomed to racing over the 520m trip – Kanzan got going again and had no trouble holding off a late charge from the luckless Alotta Talk.
Kanzan, a daughter of Dyna Double One and Asterix, is a 25 month old litter sister to crack New Zealand greyhound Cawbourne Krusty.
Her NZ sibling has compiled the remarkable record of nine wins and five seconds from 14 starts, and has annexed the NZ Futurity and St Leger as well as being beaten in a photo finish in the NZ Oaks.
While Cawbourne Krusty is at this stage a sprinter, Kanzan has long indicated staying would be her game.
Smart trains her for the Quaddie Boys Syndicate, headed by Racenet's Clinton Payne and Sky's Paul Joyce.
“We bred her from Asterix, a bitch we bought from Charlie Riccio,” Payne explained.
“When we got Asterix we had been attempting to buy a share in a thoroughbred by that name and when we were out-bid for the horse, we decided to go for a greyhound instead.
“It seemed only natural that we should call our greyhound Asterix, and she has been a terrific producer.
“Kanzan is from her fourth and final litter but her progeny have won over $500,000 in stakes.
“Asterix's previous litter, to Fabregas, included Portillo, whose four wins included success at Wentworth Park for us.
“Because Asterix was the name of a horse from the Godolphin Stable, we stuck with that theme in selecting a name for Kanzan, another top notch Godolphin thoroughbred.”
Kanzan's trainer John Smart had a successful association with the great horse Octagonal, but he is a greyhound racing man through and through.
Smart's father Ray “Artie” Smart trained the 1965 Peter Mosman Classic winner Satyr Rocket, when the race, then known as the Bi-Annual Classic, was held at Harold Park.
“My dad's local ‘watering hole' was the Cauliflower Hotel at Redfern, where he used to drink with the South Sydney first grade rugby league players,” John Smart recalled.
“They wanted him to get them a dog and train it for them, so he obtained a bitch named Can't She Travel.
“After he got the greyhound, the footballers changed their mind about getting into the sport.
“So dad was stuck with Can't She Travel but it worked out wonderfully well because she became an outstanding stayer, winning so many races that the family was able to buy a house at Narellan, not far from where I am now, with the proceeds of her wins.”
While Kanzan has a bright future, Smart is also anticipating excitement ahead with six pups whelped by his former top class stayer Lovelace, whose litter to Barcia Bale is nine weeks old.