Leading Victorian greyhounds trainer David Geall looks for a win in the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase
Fire Hose winning the MDC Regional Final at Goulburn on September 1. Picture Lachlan Naidu
Leading Victorian trainer David Geall equates it to winning the Lotto: it's life-changing, and everyone wants to win it.
That's why everyone still wants to enter, whether the odds are great or small.
Geall was referring to the greyhound racing's holy grail, the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase, the richest series in the world where the winner walks away with $1 million.
While he still has a way to go before handing his ticket over to collect, Geall's chances of winning increased on September 1 when his greyhound Fire Hose won the Goulburn Regional Final - the first of 16 regional finals across the state - and advanced to the Chase semi-finals at Wentworth Park on October 6.
Geall and Fire Hose are now just one win away from reaching the final, where they would have a one-in-eight shot at winning the $1 million.
"This race is life-changing," he said.
"It's like winning Lotto, isn't it? I'd love to win the Lotto, everyone says. Well, that's the same with the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase.
"To win a race like this would set up you, your family, your kids, your grandkids. We're in the early stages, of course, but it's exciting to have qualified for the semi-finals."
Geall has enjoyed success travelling the 16-hour round trip from his home in Lara, Victoria, to Goulburn, most notably in the club's premier event, the Goulburn Cup, having won with Emerald Rainbow back in 2019.
"We have had some good results up at Goulburn, but because it's a long way to travel, we only take good dogs up there," Geall explained.
"Fire Hose has really come to hand over two bends now, and he's not just a one-bend dog. The owners were confident he would develop into a two-bend dog, so we decided to try him out a month ago, and he won at Sandown really well.
"Now that we're into the Million Dollar Chase semis, we're going to trial him at Wentworth Park.
"Look, he's probably two to three lengths off the fastest ones, but he makes up for it with his early pace, and he's a strong dog.
"As we know at Wentworth Park, if you get around the first corner in front, you could be hard to beat because, geez, he can go when he gets on the bunny."
Geall has, for a long time, been one of the more successful trainers when it comes to big races.
He's won two Melbourne Cups (My Redeemer 2018 and Koblenz 2021), a Golden Easter Egg (Up Hill Jill 2018), an Australian Cup (Fernando Mick 2023) and a Topgun (Up Hill Jill 2017).
"Because we have been fortunate to win those feature races, you're very content as a trainer having done that, and everything else is a bonus, but now, with the Million Dollar Chase, it's moved the goalposts, so to speak. Now everyone would love to win it for financial reward," he said.
"I might be pushing my luck a bit, though, with the fortunate run we have had.
"Koblenz was our big chance to have a crack at the Million Dollar Chase a few years back, but he broke his hock. He was capable of breaking 5.30s (to the first section) at Wentworth Park and that would have made him hard to catch.
"Whether Fire Hose can make the final, time will tell, but like they say with Lotto, you can't win it if you're not in it."
This article was produced as part of an ACM partnership with Greyhound Racing NSW.
