HEATHCOTE greyhound trainer Bob Douglas has been around the sport long enough to spot a dog with that highly-craved and harder-to-find X-factor.
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He's owned at least one such dog before in his great sprinter of the early 2000s, Carlisle Jack, not to mention a few other really handy ones.
The 73-year-old is confident he has another rising star in his midst following the breathtaking win of Baby Jaycee in last Saturday night's Pat Haas Classic Final (525m) at The Meadows.
The 20-month-old, who is owned by Bendigo's John Pertzel and his family, notched up her seventh straight win with a blistering come-form-behind performance in the $12,000 to the winner final.
Her potential as a superstar has certainly set tongues wagging.
"Who knows where she can get to - we are going to step her up," Douglas said.
"She's reached top grade, so we are looking at where to place her now.
"There's a bitches race coming up in December called The Laurels Classic at Sandown.
"I don't know about the Melbourne Cup yet because she is only a baby.
"It depends on what time she runs at Sandown, whether we consider the Melbourne Cup."
While her rise has been nothing short of phenomenal, Baby Jaycee's introduction to the track was nowhere near as flashy or remarkable.
She finished third on her debut at Bendigo on July 16 behind her kennel-mate Call Me Marley and third again in her second start at Horsham 10 days later.
The following week, she finished fourth at Horsham before her breakthrough win at Bendigo on August 6.
She has since gone on to win seven straight in convincing style.
Douglas attributed the turnaround in form to something as simple as 'race experience'.
"Her first start she raced against one of our other dogs, who was trialing better than her and he just happened to get on the lure and she got spat out," he said.
"But she's just gradually learned to race.
"It's experience. Some do and some don't, but she has worked it out. She's a little ripper."
Douglas, who has owned and trained greyhounds since he was 17 and previously served nearly 10 years as the Bendigo Greyhound Racing Association's president, unequivocally rated Carlisle Jack as the best dog he has trained.
At one point ranked the number one sprinter in Australia following his win in the 2002 Group 1 Golden Easter Egg at Wentworth Park, Carlisle Jack won 33 of 61 starts and was placed 18 times for $306,350 in earnings.
His haul included six country cup wins and 23 finals appearances.
Douglas is optimistic Baby Jaycee, who he believes has a clear case of 'white-line fever', is trending in a similar direction.
"You don't know. Obviously, it's only early. She has to step up to Group racing if she can handle it," he said.
"But she's ultra-competitive; she likes to race, so she might step up. It will come down to her times.
"I'm pretty sure she will handle the pressure of Group racing, but I just don't know if she is going to find that bit extra.
"I think it's in her, but you just don't know until they do."
It's experience. Some do and some don't, but she has worked it out. She's a little ripper.
- Bob Douglas
Baby Jaycee was reared by Pertzel, who bought her as a pup from Little River-based breeders and close friends Paul and Diane Bartolo.
He described her seven straight wins as 'pretty surreal'.
"She's special, I think. I don't know what the ceiling is for her as she is so young," Pertzel said.
"I thought she was done on Saturday, five lengths behind around the back straight. It was a big comeback.
"But she's pretty determined. I think she can kick on. She's in the right hands, Bob's doing a great job with her.
"I normally train them myself, but I was up on the Sunshine Coast for a few months at the time she was ready to hit the track.
"I had to give her to someone to train. I did a bit of research and came up with Bobby's name.
"The job's done."
Pertzel, whose highlights from his more than four-decades-long involvement in racing include breeding the 1979 Australian Cup winner Boundless, has only this week transferred ownership to his three adult children Jy, Bree and Tory, who are respectively based in Bendigo, Melbourne and Queensland.
"It's a good opportunity to get them involved and get a bit of excitement out of it," he said.
"The grandkids are pretty keen on it too. They were involved a little bit in the rearing, running up and down with the dog."
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