TRARALGON greyhound Jesaulenko is an athlete befitting his famous football namesake.
The Terri-Maree Morris trained chaser took out the $14,200 Sprint Championship Final over 440 metres at Sale on Sunday, notching his fifth consecutive win in the process.
It is the second time the black bolter has quintupled up in his 40-race career, bringing his record to 20 wins and 10 placings for a return of $73,160.
His earnings are remarkable given he has never won a group level race, a fact Morris hopes to change next month in the National Sprint Championships at the Meadows.
“He starts really well, he’s beginning really well from the boxes. The main aim of the race in Sale was to get him ready for the National Sprint Championships in two weeks,” Morris said.
“He deserves it (group success). Everyone’s saying he deserves a shot at it and he’s more than capable of mixing it with the other top class dogs, he’s one of them himself.
“I expect something good out of him.”
While one of Jesaulenko’s track records at Sale was broken on the night, he still holds the 525m mark at Traralgon and has fast become synonymous with the local venue.
He won the first race on the renovated Glenview Park circuit, reached this year’s Traralgon Cup final and is believed to be the first dog to set paw on the track after its recent major overhaul.
“He was the first dog to even get walked on the track before the sand went down. It was a bit of a novelty, he wasn’t even racing then, and he’s turned out to be a really good, hard chasing dog which is great,” Morris said.
The owner, trainer and breeder of Jesaulenko, Morris said success had been cultivated over several generations.
“The breeding, the bloodline goes back 20 years with Mum and Dad and the breeding they’ve done,” she said.
“They’ve put a lot of work into keeping the bloodline (strong), being very picky. You don’t necessarily go with the flavour of the month, you’ve got to look outside the shining star at that moment… and look at what really will benefit your line.”
Jesaulenko has won 11 of his past 14 starts and will be a contender for his first group level crown.
