Galactic Athena, winner of the 2019 Group Listed Mount Gambier Cup (512 metres), whelped her first litter – one dog and two bitches (pictured) – earlier this month for Steve and Lee Bartholomew of Worrolong.
This is the 15th litter to be whelped in Australia by the US sire Blazin Wildfire who was possessed with chase, speed, strength and early pace. All told, he raced on 50 occasions for 27 wins and 16 minor placings.
From a breeding perspective, these Galactic Athena pups boast a bit of everything.
Blazin Wildfire is by Dragon Fire (a son of Australian greyhound Brett Lee whose statue was recently unveiled at Angle Park) out of the US-bred Tin Nee Ann.
Galactic Athena, bred at Moorak by Robert Chuck, is a daughter of Paddy Whacker, a sire who carries Canadian, US, Irish and Australian lines.
And her dam, Galactic Rumball (Cosmic Rumble x Elite Touch) traces back to the Mugavin family’s foundation brood bitch Val Matese.
A winner of 17 races from 40 starts, Galactic Athena’s Mount Gambier Cup win was sensational. At only 20 months of age and lining up in the final at start number six, she ran down odds on favourite Slingshot Hammer to win in the time of 29.43 seconds.