Smooth ‘Scotch’

[Wandering Eyes]

It’s said, “laughter is the best medicine”. But there’s nothing like a smooth ‘Scotch’ as a remedy.

Yes, when it comes to greyhound racing, a win is the best tonic!

And that was exactly the case for popular ‘octogenarian’, Brendan Dewan.

He and his son, Matthew have made a household name of the “Dewana” prefix in the sport. They breed-own-train under the Dozus Two syndicate.

But the close-knit father/son combination – some would say they’re joined at the hip – have ridden an emotional rollercoaster during the past week.

“It was such a big build-up, with dad being hospitalised, so there were a few tears as Dewana Scotch crossed the line.”

Last Friday, Brendan was admitted to hospital with a chest infection. The good news is he was discharged yesterday – a day after his 80^th birthday.

However, the Dewan family had put much organisation into a ‘surprise 80th’ for him last Saturday. Those plans looked apt to go astray, but fortunately the hospital ‘released’ Brendan to celebrate his milestone.

“They let him out for two hours (6.30-8.30pm),” Matty said. “Around 80-90 people turned up and he loved it.

“Then on Wednesday, his actual birthday, we dropped off all his birthday cards to him at hospital.”

But Brendan also received another ‘birthday gift’ last night when Dewana Scotch (Nov ’20 Fernando Bale x Dewana Dimie) was a brilliant Grade Five winner over 595m at Sandown Park.

And there was no way Brendan was going to miss the race, albeit he was confined to watching it from home.

“It was such a big build-up, with dad being hospitalised, so there were a few tears as Dewana Scotch crossed the line,” Matty said. “My mum, wife and four kids, and other family members, were on-track – it was a special moment.”

They reckon a fine Scotch gets better with age – and that aphorism is certainly applying to the rising middle-distance star, which turned two on November 19 and only started racing in early June.

Dewana Scotch ($2.20F) gave his rivals a galloping lesson with a dazzling all-the-way victory in 34.20sec. He saluted by a whopping 9.4L.

It was his sixth win (with three seconds and five thirds) from 23 starts. His stakes total $27,570.

The ‘Dewan clan’ (with Matty front right) – minus ‘birthday boy’ and patriarch Brendan – following the dynamic win of DEWANA SCOTCH.

An extremely versatile type, Dewana Scotch finished fourth in the Healesville Puppy Championship (350m) – only seven starts ago – on November 13.

“He just didn’t have that short-course speed to beat them,” Matty said. “The aim is to put him over more ground. His mum was a handy stayer, and with the time he’s ‘run home’, that’s the next step.”

Matty says there’s a lot of meaning into the special bond he holds with his dad in life and greyhound racing.

“We get to spend each day together… It’s all about the enjoyment we get from our passion – breeding and rearing dogs and having fun.

DEWANA SCOTCH cruises to a slick 34.20sec win over 595m at Sandown Park last night.

One day we’d like to win a Group race together… Greyhound racing is a family affair – including our kids, the grandkids and their cousins. They all love helping with the greyhounds.”

Matty is a director at O’Briens Real Estate in Cranbourne. He’s also a corporate owner and shareholder of O’Briens Real Estate.

In his teenage years, he also part-owned star sprinter Malawi’s Prince.

Pawnote: Matty said it would be remiss not to thank Kel Greenough, Dave Geall, Steve Shinners and Jamie Ennis for their advice and assistance over the past couple of weeks.

WATCH: Rising middle-distance star DEWANA SCOTCH (B1) puts on a ‘vintage’ display, scoring by nearly 10L.

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