EXPLOSIVE BOY BECOMES EXPLOSIVE DAD

Ian Fortune

While Explosive Boy is currently preparing for the semi-finals of the Boylesports Irish Greyhound Derby, behind the scenes he has become a dad.

In total he has had eleven litters, averaging seven pups in each, with the latest coming in recent days for his owners Cheryl and Peter Sutcliffe.

Peter yesterday reported that his own high-class bitch, Zipping Sassy has just had a litter of eight by Explosive Boy consisting of four dogs and four bitches. You may remember that we reported Explosive Boy mated a bitch not long before his Dundalk International success. Well, Zipping Sassy was her.

It’s certainly some exciting news for Peter and Cheryl. During her relatively short racing career in Australia, Zipping Sassy was a high-class performer. The daughter of Barcia Bale and top-class racer Zipping Willow won at a number of tracks and finished third in the Group 2 Bendigo Cup. She was blessed with tremendous early speed and, given Explosive Boy’s style of racing, it’s likely their progeny won’t be short of early zip either.

Zipping Sassy and her pups are with Cheryl and Peter in their current Nenagh base but they are hoping to move to their new house in Cashel in the coming weeks. Peter reports Sassy is an attentive mum and hopes are high she will throw some very talented performers.

In the short term we wish Explosive Boy the best of luck in the semis of the Derby but, long term, we wish Peter and Cheryl the best of luck with their new arrivals.