The Real McCoy the one and only 
Australian Champion Sparpartner Lord Oden
Written By Mark Bootle (Warree-Aust.)

The best way I can start this story is how I turned up at  Tony Sinn's place to see Slick's litter.
I went up to Nanango to have a look at Havildar of Tarlair and boy I knew what I saw I liked.  This dog's strength and agility blew me away, in my mind these are the main attributes of a good Stafford.  So I got interested in this fairly new
line to Australia.

Being some time later I went to have a look at a litter out of English import Eastaff Likely Lad at Tony's place and I was amazed at the fact that I hadn't seen pups of this type before.  To me there was a pup there that stood out above the rest and when Tony said he was keeping a different pup to the one I liked I blurted out "can we have that one?" 
He didn't let us know straight away but let us sweat on it for a couple of hours before he rang and agreed.

This started the show training of the most stubborn, pig headed, intelligent Stafford I've ever had the pleasure to know.
It took a long time  but between me and the pushbike I finally got some order with him.  But he was  quite the show dog by the time the 1991 SBTCQ Champ Show came along,  winning Best In Show under Bill McKnight (Belnite) from Ireland.  
This show was an Australian record entry at the time. Bill commented on this dogs extreme fitness and musculation 
~ this dog was ran 9 mile a day, 6 miles in the morning and 3 miles  at night never breaking down once, proving his soundness. This dog now being over 11 years old still sleeps with his kennel not in it but on the roof of it.

A few people were surprised at Slick's height and weight, looking a much  bigger dog than he really was, being 16" and never going over 19.2 kilos ~ fitting the standard closely and showing great strength for his size.

I ordered a puppy bitch from Havildar of Tarlair's line which is a  grandfather/granddaughter mating to Eng Ch
Skean Dhu through Royal Rani being a daughter of Eng Ch Allendale King with Eng Ch Skean Dhu being a son of
Eng Ch Black Tusker.  This bitch being Sparpartner Black Bess (Lily) ~ this bitch also being  placed 3rd in
Australian Bred under Bill McKnight.

Finally it came time to mate Slick to Lily, 12,13,14,15,16,17th day no success.  Then bang the 18th day ~ half hour tie.  
Three pups from this litter made the show ring,  all becoming Australian Champions.

With Slick coming from a litter of five champions ~ eight champions in two litters it was a feather in the caps 
of the people who had the good sense to import these lines.

The last time Slick graced a show ring was the SBTCQ Champ Show in 1998 being in his 10th year with the old fella still being placed amongst the cards.  With some breeders asking me was I showing one of Slick's sons?  No I replied, this is the real McCoy the one and only  Australian Champion Sparpartner Lord Oden