Departed gives Aloisi an emotional win
Thursday night’s Angle Park program saw race eight on the card named ‘Debbie Coleman, Forever in our Heart Stake,’ in honour of long time trainer Debbie Coleman who passed away suddenly last weekend.
The race was taken out by the Robyn Mackellar-trained Departed, which is owned by Tim Aloisi and given Aloisi’s strong connection to Coleman and partner Rob Camilleri, it was a fitting result that Aloisi described as an emotional and special moment after a very tough week.
“I was with Debbie on Saturday night at The Meadows. When the fields came out, within seconds, she messages me saying ‘I’ll see you,” Aloisi said.
“It was made more special as my son Luca did his first Melbourne road-trip and Debbie was so excited and she went out of her way to get him a GRV handler’s top. She had a heart of gold and more.”
Aloisi’s connection with Coleman dates back more than a decade, with the purchase of Grifter Bale, who was a reliable performer in Victoria and South Australia.
“When I first got into greyhounds, my third purchase was Grifter Bale and that’s when I first met Debbie,” Aloisi said.
“I was nervous to call her and say we just bought Grifter off Paul Wheeler, but when I called she was unbelievable.
“The friendship started from there and never looked back.”
The initial conversation led to a long and fruitful partnership, both on and off the track with Coleman training with great success for Aloisi including feature wins and group success but it is off the track where Coleman had her biggest influence on Aloisi.
“The friendship was always more than greyhounds,” Aloisi said.
“I saw Debbie as a mother figure to me and she has been a huge influence behind me. I was nearly going to get out of dogs a few years ago but her and Rob helped us out big time.
“She was one of the nicest ladies you could ever meet. If I could be half the human she was, I’d be happy. I will forever be thankful.”
Coleman’s loss has been felt right across the Australian greyhound racing community with Coleman having a strong presence across Victoria and New South Wales and Aloisi said she will be missed by all.
“Words can’t describe how broken we all are. She was so loved by many in racing community,” Aloisi said.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to her partner Rob Camilleri and her kids Kayla-Jane, Rachel, Ricky and Kory. We are all thinking of you.
“Life and the dogs will never be the same, but we will never forget her and that beautiful smile. She was a one of a kind and I was so glad we had you in our lives. We will never forget you.”