Victa Damian Captures an Elusive Dream
It was an extraordinary night at Wentworth Park in the middle of Sydney for the leading training combination in South Australia of Tony and Lisa Rasmussen, as they clinched their first Group 1 victory, which is a dream they have been chasing since they moved into their property in 1998.
Victa Damian went into the Group 1 National Derby race as favourite, off the back of a scintillating heat win the week prior at his first start at the track. When Tony lifted the ribbon last week and drew box five for the final, it ensured that the job was going to be a bit harder.
It was a hot field, as you would expect for a Group 1, but when Victa Damian landed a close second up the back straight, the result was all but over. He took over around the home turn and by the time he stopped the clock in a best of the night 29.47, the tears were already flowing at the Schadow’s house. Ron and Joan Schadow, who have been synonymous in South Australian Greyhound Racing for a while, bred and own Victa Damian and it has been a now life changing association that was struck up, between the Ramussen duo and the Schadow’s a few years ago.
It’s a special feeling for Lisa, particularly as it’s been such a long wait to have this dream realised and to spend it with Ron and Joan, who are two of the kindest people you will ever meet, has certainly made it all the better.
“Quite surreal actually, it’s unbelievable to know what happened last night actually happened. I still haven’t caught up with all of them (phone calls and messages), it’s unreal the amount of people out there and the support we’ve been getting, it’s just so good.” said Lisa
“Went down to Ron and Joan Schadow's place (last night), Scott and Carol (Schadow) picked Emily and I up and we went down there to watch it with them. We just had an awesome night and just the expression on Ron’s face, and Joan was crying, it was just awesome. We got home about 12ish, it’s the longest I've seen Ron stay up for a while! He was over the moon with (Victa) Marli’s run too ”
While Lisa here in South Australia, Tony, along with Rebecca who has been a loyal member of the team for quite a while, were at Wentworth Park, after making the massive 12 hour drive over. The handling duties were given to Rebecca and she did the perfect job. A celebration will be on the cards, after they of course make the 12 hour drive back today.
“They were planning on it (driving through the night), but they ended up going back to Stuart Dickinson’s and staying there.”
“They were so excited and so happy everything went good.”
“You don’t really plan for a future with a dog because you never know what is around the corner but it’s nice to have one that you can sort of think what is possible. I think that’s the most exciting part about it.”
It’s quite obvious that Victa Damian is just a special dog who is completely one out of the box. Still three weeks away from turning two, having just run a best of the night time on a Group 1 race night in Sydney, is simply incredible. It is hard to argue that he is the most promising dog to potentially ever come out of South Australia and if continues to get better, then who knows where his career will take him. It’s not just on the track that he’s different, it’s also everything else and most trainers would agree that good dogs do things right, which rings true with Victa Damian.
“Around home he’s just so easy to do stuff with, he is a little bit excitable and a bit pulley, because he’s such a big dog. He took to the walking machine straight away, he loves galloping up the straight track, he’s so quiet in his kennel, he doesn’t bark, he doesn’t chew his bed. He’s just perfect in all aspects, except for when he wants to go somewhere then he likes to take you!”
Obviously the next question in everyone's mind is where to next for the star chaser, but that is something Tony and Lisa will sit down and work through together in the coming days.
“We haven’t really decided yet, the Easter Egg is on the horizon and the Peter Mossman later in the year in July. We don’t want to push him, so it’s just one day at a time.”
Away from Victa Damian taking out the Derby, his sister Victa Marli ran a fantastic third in the Group 1 Futurity final, after showing her brilliant pace and burn to lead up until the home turn.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of years for both the Schadow family and the Rasmussen family, with the success of the last litter which included the likes of Victa Grosso, Victa Reid and Victa Haydyn. If this current litter continues to improve, then it’s going to be a great ride for the next 12 months, that’s for sure!