Alice Dooley

The past week or so has highlighted just what a wonderful, wonderful damline that intensely in-bred bitch Alice Dooley has developed.

Alice Dooley (Barrantes-Impish Dancer) was in-bred 3x2 to Brother Fox and the direct damline of both sire and dam traced to the same famous female family. It is the same famous female family found duplicated in G1 winner and prized broodbitch Born Ali.

This family has been dominant in recent weeks with Paua Of Buddy winning the Bendigo Cup, Light And Lily winning the G1 Peter Mosman Opal with Ziggy Star third, Miss Ezmae winning the G2 Sydney Cup and a young dog called Ben Mayo running 29.l14 to win at Sandown.

Check out their pedigrees.

Back in 2011, I wrote an article on Bob Bert who bred and raced Alice Dooley. This was his story:

BOB Bert gets a bit indignant these days when it comes to greyhounds.

Bob thinks nothing of driving from his Tweed Heads home to the Ettrick property of Sue and Darryl Schafer to keep the place spick and span. Bob is an unassuming guy. He does the mowing and at the Schafers there is plenty to do, 40 acres of it.

On any visit to Sue and Darryl's greyhound rearing and training complex, you'd almost miss Bob if he didn't stop to say hello, which he makes sure he does.

While the Schafers have been turning out stars on their Ettrick property for a few years now, it is Bob who has reached the ultimate heights. Bob, you see, bred and raced wonder broodbitch Alice Dooley (Barrantes-Impish Dancer) the dam of Hall of Famer Paua To Burn.

This is also the damline of such stars as Bit Chili, Prankster, Digital Magic, Danny Phantom, Did I Entertain and the New Zealand star Tricky Shelley ... and broodbitch goldmine Chili Berger.

When Bob was young, one of his mates was a guy called Owen Makin, now a leading greyhound man. "We lived at Bundeena south of Cronulla," said Bob. "Owen left as a young bloke to move to west of Nowra. We saw each other on and off over the years."

Their paths would cross in the early 1990s. Owen was in Queensland to race a dog in the Gold Coast Cup series. Bob by that time was living in Tweed Heads with his partner Toni Bovis. They'd had a greyhound called Steal Home which had won a race but broke a hock.

"Owen sent up a bitch for us to race. Her name was Impish Dancer and we won with her at Tweed and Lismore. Owen had won a race at Bulli with her," said Bob. "She was a sister to the dog he had brought up for the Gold Coast Cup."

When Impish Dancer came on season, Bob decided he'd mate her. "Dennis Robinson had just retired Barrantes," said Bob. "So we put Impish Dancer to him."

Barrantes had been a brilliant race dog winning 11 and being placed four times in 22 starts. He could run sensational times and eventually would be sold to go to stud in the US. He sired a few handy dogs in the US and one of his daughters produced AA Grade Wheeling Downs performer Night Bandit.

From that litter came an outstanding race bitch called Shelley Ball, the winner of 15 races and a Nowra track record breaker, Watch Me Know and Bar Dancer all better than handy performers.

Bob and Toni had shifted south by this time, basing themselves at Nowra. "We broke the pups in at Mick Abbott's and all won first up at Moss Vale. The following week we took them to Goulburn and three of them won," said Bob.

"We kept racing them and winning with them. It was easy to race at Appin on the Saturday and then Bulli on the Wednesday night. There was no penalty for the Appin win and it kept them fit for the Bulli race."

Alice Dooley, according to Bob, was spirited to say the least. "She'd run through a brick wall," he said. "She was very quick out and won quite a few races. She wasn't as good as Shelley Ball who was the heady one of the litter. But Alice Dooley was the quickest."

Bob sent Alice Dooley to his mate, Tweed copper Mark Johnston, who trained her for a while only for the bitch to injure a hip support which halted her career.

Mark remembers her well.

"Toni was out walking a dog one morning and we crossed paths," said Mark. "She and Robert asked about taking Alice Dooley, rang just out of the blue."

Mark had Alice Dooley for a few months and won a couple at the Tweed including one in 23.87 and another over 520m in 29.73.

"She was not as good as her sister Shelley Bell, but you wouldn't find a more beautiful bitch than Alice Dooley. I remember saying to Toni 'you should breed with this bitch'."

Mark also remembers Alice Dooley had a trait of playing up badly in the boxes, she was that keen.

"She was a rocket," Mark said of Alice Dooley's racetrack ability. "But it still has got to surprise you that she could produce one as good as Paua To Burn."

At this time Bob had come back to the Tweed. He kept Shelley Ball and had four litters with her, few of them much good.

Alice Dooley went to Steve Whyte on a pup deal with Bob and Toni.

In all, Alice Dooley raced 64 times for 10 wins, 10 seconds and eight thirds.

Her wins were at Moss Vale (18.08, 17.85), Bulli (25.46, 27.33), Tweed Heads (30.01, 29.73, 23.87 FFA), Nowra (31.05), Dapto (30.29) and Appin (15.91). She raced from September 9, 1995 to June 3, 1997.

The rest is history that Steve put her to Awesome Assassin and along came Paua To Burn winner of the Golden Easter Egg, the Sapphire Crown twice, the Laurels, The Temlee and a spot in the Australian greyhound Hall of Fame.

Bob raced Elle Dooley (Addict's Actor) winner of 13 races including a couple over 520m and 600m at Albion Park.