By Gerard Guthrie
Former Test cricketer Darren Pattinson has been training greyhounds for a relatively short time, but it didn’t take him long to established himself as one of the most successful trainers in the Cranbourne region.
Pattinson, who played one Test match for England, the country of his birth, in 2008, wasted no time making his mark after swapping the flannels for the collar and lead in mid-2013, and it’s been largely through the deeds of Blazin’ Bomber, the star of his boutique Pearcedale kennel.
“I love greyhound racing. It’s been excellent but it takes up a lot of time!” said Pattinson, 37, who is the older brother of Aussie paceman James Pattinson.
“I didn’t really have any expectations when I started training greyhounds but anything I do I want to do as good as I can so you dream big and it’s been great to have a good dog like Blazin’ Bomber come along pretty quickly.”
Boasting the fantastic strike rate of 25 wins from 52 starts and $218,000 in prizemoney, Blazin’ Bomber contested his 14th Group event on 28 January when sixth in the Warragul Cup, the second leg of greyhound racing’s $800,000 Gippsland Carnival.
Blazin’ Bomber ran an unlucky fourth in a heat of the Cranbourne Cup last weekend, thus missing out on a place in this Saturday night’s $67,000 final, but Pattinson is delighted to be training one of the most talented greyhounds in Australia.
“He beat (Melbourne Cup winner) Ando’s Mac in a Warragul Cup heat last month which shows what he is capable of,” he said.
Blazin’ Bomber is a two-time winner at Group 3 level, however Group 1 glory has thus far proven elusive despite five appearances on racing’s greatest stage, although Pattinson remains optimistic his day in the sun will come.
“I think he probably deserves to win a Group 1 but you don’t have a right to win one. You’ve got to go out and do it and so far he hasn’t been able to,” Pattinson said.
“There’s a few Group 1s coming up at The Meadows. He’s got invitations for the Temlee and the Rookie Rebel, which are run on the same night (18 February) but we’re looking more at the 600m race (Rookie Rebel) and then there’s the Australian Cup (4 March). I’m not sure how long he’ll go on after that because there’s a lot of demand for him at stud.”
While most of Pattinson’s energies are these days devoted to his greyhound duties, he admits cricket is still very much in his blood.
“I still play the odd game and have a bit to do with Dandenong in the Premier League,” Pattinson said.
“I’d still play if I wasn’t so busy with the dogs. I do miss cricket but more the social side of things rather than playing the game.
“Playing a Test for England was a bit strange. It sort of happened so fast because I’d only just gone over playing County cricket and it was a bit of a shock to get picked. I took a couple of wickets but we got flogged by South Africa.”
