A few current and former players have teamed up…
Red, black and off to the track
Roger Oldridge@roger_oldridge
3:47PM
In the years since 19th century American author Mark Twain penned the line “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog,” the famous quote been used as motivation by sporting teams worldwide.
Undoubtedly the Essendon Football Club is one such team and, in the very near future a gelding will appear in a race book named Fight In The Dog, with an ownership group that’s a who’s who of the red and black.
And not only do they own him, they also bred him.
“We’ve all been in the journey for a while so, whilst you’d like for him to get to the track and have a run, it’s been a long process and we’re happy to wait and make sure he gets there safely and finds the right race,” part-owner and former Essendon captain Jobe Watson told racing.com.
“It was a very small foal, so he’s taken some time to grow and hence why we’ve had to be quite patient with him.”
And, hence the apt name.
The ownership group includes current and former Bombers Watson, Joe Daniher, Cale Hooker, Michael Hurley, Orazio Fantasia, Travis Colyer, Marty Gleeson, Conor McKenna and David Myers, as well as current and former assistant coaches Mark Harvey and Hayden Skipworth and former footy operations boss Matt O’Hanlon.
But the ones who brought it all together were Bombers young gun Zach Merrett and his good friends, Western Bulldogs player Will Hayes and his twin brother and trainer, JD.
“It was fortuitous with the relationship Zach Merrett had with the Darley operation and they were keen for us to have a first-season sire of Frosted and that was where the initial inquiry came from,” Watson explained.
"I think his partner’s brother worked for Darley at the time and that was the initial relationship and Zach went to school with the twins and he is very close with them, JD and Will, so that’s why they’ve been training it.
“It has been good because we’ve been in it since the start, so it’s been the whole breeding process and then as he’s grown, it’s required a lot of patience along the journey.”
Fight In The Dog, the first foal by Russian Ruby, was nominated for two races last week but scratched from both as he searches for a Good track.
Russian Ruby went to the races 29 times for one win and 10 minor placings, so the Bomber boys, past and present, will be hoping for a little more success for the gelding who keeps their connection going.
“We get the updates and there’s a WhatsApp group; there’s a lot of players who have moved on to other clubs or industries but it’s a nice connection to still have with each other,” Watson said.
