Old Picture Returns Felke Family To Racing

WAGGA boys, 12-year-old Ollie Felke and his eight-year-old brother Spencer, a few years ago found an old picture of their dad Shane with a greyhound and, as boys want to do, pestered him until he bought the family a dog of their own.

When the picture was taken, Shane was 15 and training a greyhound of his own even though he was too young to have a license. His dogs were in his dad Werner's name.

“Mum and dad would take me trialling and racing, but we also got to know Ray Sims and he became a mentor for me for years,” said Shane.

Fast forward to late in 2022 and Shane listened to his boys and bought a Sennachie-Elusive Anake bitch from Victoria called Teeter.

“Ollie and Spencer are always with me, helping to trial and swim the bitch,” said Shane.

“She started trialling really well and I decided to toss her in for a maiden at Wagga.”

Teeter bolted in by more than six lengths in 18.34. It was Shane's first greyhound winner as a trainer for 20 years.

“My previous winner was You've Changed off box one at Temora in 2001,” said Shane.

While Teeter is the apple of the family's eye, only Shane was there for the race.

“It was my sister Heidi's 40th birthday party on the same night and my wife Amy and the boys went to the party while I took Teeter to race,” said Shane.

“When she won, I sent the video to Spencer and she raced around the party showing everyone.”

Shane Felke, now a construction manager for Matt Jenkins Homes in Wagga, at one time was training both greyhounds and harness horses at Wagga and then headed to school such was his devotion to racing.

“I eventually gave the dogs away despite having good success as an owner with dogs with Ray Sims,” said Shane.

“I won a few races with a mare called Skirnir but it was my thing to buy and sell.

“I raced a mare called Million Dollar Gem with Brett and Sally Woodhouse, a $7000 buy we won a good few races with and then sold her to the US for $100,000.”

Married life, those two boys, and work commitments forced Shane out of racing until Ollie and Spencer found that picture of their dad.

“A few years ago, I was looking through some adverts and decided to buy another dog,” he said.

“I contacted Ray out of the blue and we started all over again.

“Sandy Flash won six of her first eight for us and again we started heading over to Ray's to help out and that led to me getting my trainer's license again.”

Shane and Ray have gone halves in a Zipping Garth-Bianca Keeping litter now being prepared for education.

And Shane is embracing greyhound racing once again.

“People don't understand just what a wonderful dog a greyhound is,” he said. “I've missed them.

“It was a big thrill to win with Teeter and already I've been approached about selling her.

“I still have a love of harness horses as well. But, a gig can cost $10,000 and some of the horses pulling them are not worth that sort of money.

“It is very intensive and greyhound racing is certainly much easier and now very lucrative,” he said.