Darwin greyhound trainer Steele Bolton going for third Cup win at Winnellie with Porsche Monelli
Steele Bolton trains a staggering 52 greyhounds, has a spot on the Darwin Greyhound Association committee and works fulltime as an electrician. It’s a full-on life he lives, but one he loves ahead of the Darwin Cup.
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STEELE Bolton trains a staggering 52 greyhounds, has a spot on the Darwin Greyhound Association committee and works fulltime as an electrician.
It’s a full-on life he lives, but one he loves.
He also holds genuine hopes for Porsche Monelli in Sunday’s $34,000 Group 3 Ladbrokes Darwin Cup at Winnellie Park.
You only have to relive his maiden Darwin Cup win with Crocodile Crush in 2018 to see how much this event means to him.
“It’s the best feeling of my life,” he said after that victory, before winning the all-local Cup event with Spirit Monelli in 2020.
Win or loss on Sunday night, the talented young trainer will still be happy because he lives a busy but rewarding lifestyle.
“It’s my life – I love greyhound racing,” the DGA’s leading greyhound mentor said.
“I’m also a sparkie fulltime, with my dogs on the side. I’ve got 52 at the moment. If I didn’t love my job so much I’d stop going to work, but I also love my job.
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“My boss is a legend and there’s a lot of flexibility given to me with my greyhound training.”
There are some similarities between Crocodile Crush and Porsche Monelli.
“He (Porsche Monelli) didn’t really try his hardest in his heat (finishing third) and Crocodile Crush was the same at times,” Bolton said.
“For my dog to win, he’d have to gain a few lengths and the others would have to lose three or four.
“But he’s a good place chance. I’d love to see (former DGA premiership-winner) Jamie Hosking win this race (with Waltzing Mickey and Micks Recall running). He hasn’t won a Darwin Cup before and this would mean the world to him.”
Star Queensland trainer Tom Tzouvelis has two-year-old bitch Sunburst running from box five. She blitzed her heat to win by 3 ½ lengths.
“She’s really taken to the Winnellie track,” said Tzouvelis, his star stayer with a two-from-two Darwin record, not including the Chief Minister’s win which was later ruled a no-result because of a pile-up of runners.
“Her first win in Darwin was unreal because she got belted all over the place. She’s not a one-dimensional runner – she can come back from the field.”
The 2017 Cup winner believes Vice Grip, for Peter Donnolley in box one, and Rob Ayres’ I’m Explosive in box six, will both be tough to beat.
Tzouvelis has fought his own brave battle, and is grateful to be cancer free after a recent six-month check-up.
“It was a Stage 1 neuroendocrine endocrine carcinoid cancer in the small intestine, which is a slow-growing tumour,” he said, the symptoms producing visible black blood.
“But thankfully it was detected early, and at the moment I’m cancer free.
“You always have to look on the bright side because there’s a chance you can always be hit by a bus or be in a car accident.
“This just re-inforces why I come up to Darwin.
“We really enjoy these family holidays and being around great people.”
Tzouvelis stays with Darwin trainer Brian Kelleher when he comes up for the Cup Carnival, the two winning the sought after feature four years ago with bitch Off And On.
“It’s because of people like Brian and (wife) Robyn Kelleher that we keep coming up,” Tzouvelis said.
“And they have been great friends of our family since the first time we came up for the Darwin Cup back in 2004.”
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