Yuroke trainer Terrence Reid, better known as Terry, is no stranger to the pressures of the Warragul Cup. Neither is his greyhound Ronray Spirit as he stands as this year’s defending champion, having won the 2015 Warragul Cup.

“I’d like to [repeat], but it’s a very hard task. It is definitely not easy” explained Reid.

Lining up in Box Seven at 7:17pm in the second heat of the night, Reid is not worried about the outside draw stating that “it isn’t a problem at all”.

“What’s important is how he can position himself in the race. It’s about whether he can get to the front and hang on. He used to be a bit quicker early but he has lost a little bit of his dash. He can still run over the top of them though. He goes well at Warragul. He goes really well on one-turn tracks” said Reid.

With the recent heat wave, some greyhounds prefer the cooler weather. Ronray Spirit has no preference according to Reid though.

“It was hot last year coming into the Cup. It was similar and the weather doesn’t worry him. There is no difference this year” explained Reid.

The son of Cosmic Rumble and Ronray Disco hails from New South Wales and is owned by family friends of the Reid’s, Ray and Irena Steele.

“He is owned by family friends who I have had dogs from for a very long time. When the Steele’s were moving, Ray had two good dogs that I helped with during the process and I got Ronray Spirit.”

“[Ronray Spirit] is just a pleasure. He is no problem at all and a great dog to have. He just gets out and does his work and causes no problems in the kennel. Like all good dogs, he just does everything right” said Reid.

Though Terry Reid resides far away from Warragul, he originally hails from Murrumbeena and spent most of his days as a child at the Warragul track.

“I spent my younger days going to Warragul as a kid with the parents. We would go up there to have a kick of the football and watch the horses and dogs. Warragul was one of the tracks that Dad used to race at” Reid explained.

Reid’s father is none other than Hall of Fame trainer Peter Reid. With a family history dating back over a century, the Reid family is primed for racing.

“My great-grandfather had coursing dogs and my grandfather had greyhounds as well as Dad. We have been with greyhounds since about 1900. In fact, my father bought his first dog off of my Grandfather and that is how he met Mum. You might just say that it is in my DNA.” exclaimed Reid.

To Reid, winning Ronray Spirit’s heat “would be a big thrill to make the final again, just because of my connection of the area.”

View the Warragul Cup Heat fields here.

Image Above: Terry and Ronray Spirit after their win in the 2015 Warragul Cup. Photo by: BlueStream Pictures