Mr Pupparazzi Pup Shines On Debut

Southern Sydney owner-trainer Charlie Riccio is keeping a lid on he and his son Matthew's exciting new prospect Puppeteer after the dog's impressive maiden win at Gosford on Sunday.

Puppeteer is a son of two dogs formerly trained by Riccio, Mr Pupparazzi and My Bro Fabio bitch, Gone By Noon.

Gone By Noon, a six-time winner which was a sub 30 dog at Wentworth Park was the first bitch mated to Mr Pupparazzi, a 29.60 dog at Wentworth Park that contested feature races such as the Silver Chief, Vic Peters Classic and SA Derby.

A son of US stud superstar Djays Octane, Riccio decided it was "worth a shot" to have a litter with the dog he knew was loaded with ability.

"(Mr) Pupparazzi was not Australia's fastest dog but I've never had a better chaser and that was his best attribute," Riccio said.

"In 2023, a dog with chase is what I believe is the most important thing to look for when selecting a stud dog.

"That's why I gave it a go."

Mr Pupparazzi hails from the Wheeler dam line and is a third-generation chaser raced by Riccio.

He also put the polish on the dog's dam Pie Thief and grand dam, Eight Bucks.

"It's been a good line," he said. "Ate Bucks was a good stayer that ran in races like the Chairman's Cup and she was a good producer.

"George's (Mr Pupparazzi) little brother is Catch Me Curley and Pie Thief's litter sister Asterix produced the likes of Kanzan, who's thrown Plagiarize, Cawbourne Brick, Cawbourne Krusty and Portillo, who's the dam of Guelph."

Mr Pupparazzi only has two litters on the ground – the December 2021 Gone By Noon litter and an August 2022 litter to Begonia Bale.

Riccio is offering five free Mr Pupparazzi services. To secure one call Charlie on 0410 086 264.

Puppeteer is now likely to head to Wentworth Park for his next assignment in the coming weeks.

The black dog couldn't have been any more impressive winning his first start when recording best of the night figures of 29.61 for the Gosford 515m trip.

Emphasising the inexperienced pup's performance was 20 minutes later when Ziggy Stardust led throughout to score in 29.78, with a run home of 12.68 while Puppeteer's last split was 12.57.

"The dog has still got plenty to learn and a long way to go but he's a very nice pup," Riccio said.

"We'll just take small steps with him and see where it takes us."