Gary's Gift Causes A Bathurst Storm

MOMENTS after Melbourne Storm rookie Ryan Papenhuyzen scooted 85m to score one of the solo tries of the season last Thursday, Phil Gould said he could have ran to Albury.

MOMENTS after exciting Melbourne Storm rookie Ryan Papenhuyzen scooted 85 metres to score one of the solo tries of the season last Thursday, Phil Gould said in channel nine commentary such was his speed and power, he could have ran to Albury without being caught.

And while Bathurst is still a fair hike from Albury, much of the same could be said about the Papenhuyzen-owned Gary's Gift at the central west circuit on Monday, ending a run of 13 outs with a smart all-the-way victory over the 450m.

"We trained all Monday so I only just got off the massage table in time to tune into Sky Channel and watch the race," beamed a delighted Papenhuyzen moments after Gary's Gift's third career success.

Grabbing plenty of headlines after playing a starring role in the Storm's last-minute 24-22 victory over the Wests Tigers at his NRL starting debut last Thursday, 20 year old Papenhuyzen had even further cause to celebrate after Monday's win, sharing in the ownership of Gary's Gift with father Neil and cousins.

"We always back him so we had a nice win, when we pay his training fees we add a bit on top to go towards throwing something on him – we love watching him go around," added Papenhuyzen of the son of Fernando Bale, named after Australian cricketer Nathan Lyon, who carries the nickname ‘Gary'.

"At Christmas lunch a few years back some of the family was talking about buying a greyhound to race and my sister went to school with Brad Eberand who is in the industry. One thing led to another from there and we bought Gary's Gift as a pup.

"He's had a couple of trainers along the way but he wasn't really what they were after but John Chapman is getting the best out of him now – he's great to deal with. We get a big kick out of watching him race, the dog has his own Instagram page with around 300 followers as well.

"When he retires I'm looking forward to having him as a pet – but hopefully there's still a few more wins in him yet!"

While Papenhuyzen's NRL career is ready to launch, the 20 year old continues to dabble in greyhound ownership, involved in Sandown's newly formed National Greyhound Draft which kicked off last year.

"I'm in Team Britton with the Greyhound Draft – I saw it advertised and thought it was a great way to get involved further without spending a packet," added Papenhuyzen, who played under 20s for Wests Tigers before taking up the opportunity to play under Craig Bellamy at the Melbourne Storm.

"The first pup in the syndicate is by Black Magic Opal and she's in pre-training now with good reports so hopefully it's not too long until I can get to the races and watch her go around. It'd be great to have a couple racing at the same time."

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