Ozzie’s Crazy Train, son of Blast Zone, scores 2nd in Grouse Futurity

2018 Grand National Grouse Futurity

Steve Madearos’s setter male, Ozzie’s Crazy Train, under the direction of pro Mark Forman earned 2nd in the 74th Grouse Futurity run over the Allegheny Forest, PA grounds, November 4-5, 2018.  Steve was on hand to scout as Ozzie ran a strong race featuring a forward pattern in the 4th brace on Day 1.  A quality field of 41 challengers from all over the cover dog world vied for honors and Ozzie was judged the top setter in the field.  The pointer, Chasehill I’m Oscar, won for John Stolgitis.  The course Ozzie drew featured a variety of cover from heavy broom grass, open timber and thickets of brush and aspen.  Ozzie adjusted to each of these conditions without missing a beat.  Moving through the bogs and reaching out when opportunities at more distant objectives presented themselves, he demonstrated his intelligence and the training that the Forman team has put into him.  Near the halfway mark of his 30 minute heat, Ozzie pointed a grouse solidly with a high straight tail.  He had the bird accurately pinpointed and as it got up he was poised.  Inspired by this find, Ozzie continued to drive and reach as needed going down the stretch of his heat.  At the pickup, all who were on hand knew they had a performance that would be remembered.

Futurities are breeder’s stakes.  Dams are nominated at the time they are bred.  Those who pay the nomination fees are betting that their breeding will win nearly two years later at the Futurity event.  Jim Chambers of Uniontown, PA, bet that his Walnut Hills Rocket On Point, producing littermate to our Grand National Grouse Champion Full Blast (he also produced by Jim) when bred to Ch. Blast Zone would bring home the ribbon and prize money to his kennel.  Two years ago, Blast Zone was just a derby but Jim had gotten the text reports for months from Thor Kain who was developing “Strike” and Jim had seen the videos of “Strike” handling wild birds of every variety a multitude of times.  He was sold on Blast Zone as a sire. The mating would be a close linebred affair.  “Strike” is a son of Grand National Grouse Ch. Full Blast–so this amounted to breeding a son to his sire’s sister.  We have had success with line breeding in general over the decades and we felt that we had two individuals of high quality and we advised Jim to go forward with this mating. Today that confidence paid off.