Friends for 30 years, the Finns and the Keys have enjoyed many good times together, from lunches and dinners to overseas holidays, and their love for greyhounds at the heart of it all.
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It made their combined success with Tiggerlong Amy in Wagga's annual feature - the Ladbrokes Bidgee Cup - all the sweeter.
It was a "first" for both Mick and Helen Finn and Kevin and Margaret Keys.
Despite a lengthy time in the sport and many winners, Margaret and Kevin had never trained a Group race winner. As for Mick and Helen, they had experienced Group success, but victory in their hometown feature event had previously eluded them.
That was until this year's running of the Group 3 Ladbrokes Bidgee Cup when Tiggerlong Amy, trained by Kevin and Margaret and owned by Helen and Mick, took out the $25,000 feature.
And to add to the celebrations, Amy's sister, Tiggerlong Ruby, trained by Helen and Mick, finished second.
"We've finished second, I don't know how many times over the years, so for sure its extra special with your first hometown cup win," said Mick.
"My wife owns both dogs and you couldn't stop her crying she was so excited.
"(Tiggerlong) Tonk won a lot of good races and a couple of Group 1s [the Perth Cup and Harrison Dawson] but we couldn't get to most of them with COVID on at the time, but regardless your home Cup is special."
Kevin agreed with Mick: "It's unbelievable really. Their first Wagga Cup, and with their own dam line, and for the sisters to quinella the race, it's special," said Kevin.
"We have been training for the Finns for 30-odd years. We had Tiggerlong Amy's mother, Tiggerlong Dot, and trained her mother, and her grandmother. It's a big thrill for us too. We've had runners in the Topgun, and the National Distance Final, and won a couple of big races at Dapto like The Silver Collar, but we hadn't been able to win a Group race until now.
"We go back a long way with Mick and Helen and have trained quite a few for them. What happens is Mick keeps most of his dogs in Wagga but anything that is destined for city class would come to us, or go to Correy and Samantha Grenfell in Melbourne, like Tiggerlong Tonk did."
While it was momentous for both the Finns and Keys, they didn't get to celebrate together. Kevin and Margaret were in a bowling club at Coolangatta watching on a big screen and making a ruckus.
"No, we were at the Gold Coast on holidays," Kevin said when asked if they were in Wagga.
"We were at the Coolangatta Bowling Club. We had the club rocking. One of the bar staff nearly jumped the bar because he thought there was something going on. It's the arrangement we have every time we go on holidays - if we're not away together - that we send the dogs back down to Mick and Helen. When we get back we both drive to Yass and hand the dogs back over."
Both Tiggerlong Amy and Tiggerlong Ruby headed back to the Keys' kennels at Dapto this week, the pair fortuitously able to contest the Ladbrokes Middle Distance Championship, after the Dapto meeting on November 9 was postponed due to inclement weather. That postponement saw the championship heats put back a week allowing the Bidgee Cup winner and runner-up to contest the $25,000 event.
This article was produced as part of an ACM partnership with Greyhound Racing NSW.
