Derby champ has no peers in Oscars list...
THEY celebrated long into the early hours at Sunday’s annual greyhound awards bash in London with the main oscar of the night going to Taylors Sky as dog of the year, and rightly so.
Trained by Charlie Lister OBE, the Sky was indeed the limit in a tremendous campaign which saw him win the biggest race of all, the Derby, not to mention the Henlow equivalent and the Gold Cup at Monmore, his tally amounting to 12 wins from 17 races.
A Rolls Royce of a greyhound, with any number of gears not to mention overdrive, Taylors Sky is the epitome of the perfect racing machine, a slick starting close railer with an abundance of early speed plus the ability to get home plenty well enough.
It is all there, and while an intended trial for Taylors Sky at Henlow last week was aborted and his comeback consequently delayed, it won’t be too long before we can marvel once again at this fine hound, they don’t come along like this too often!
THE Mick Pacey Fan Club BETDAQ Premier League team, captained by Perry Barr-attached Carol Weatherall, will be hoping their star sprinter, Dynamo Joe, will be fit and ready to do himself justice in the qualifying round at Yarmouth on December 3.
The dog boasts an impressive win ratio of 11 from 26, all but one of those wins in open competition, and completed a four-timer recently at Belle Vue, which followed a hat-trick at Nottingham, all those races around two bends.
“Joe’s been off a couple of weeks but should be fine for Yarmouth,” said Darren Holmes, the partner of Mrs Weatherall. “Carol has asked me to look after the Premier League affairs and while we have a few good dogs ourselves we have the support of Brian Clemenson and Norah McEllistrim on our side and they probably have better dogs than us. Either way, we’re delighted they’ve joined ranks and delighted also that GOBATA has come up with an event open to all trainers of all denominations.
“Heather Dimmock completes the team and while we have been quoted at 100-1 to win the competition those are very attractive odds, after all this is greyhound racing we’re talking, anything can happen!”
So where did the team name Mick Pacey Fan Club come from? “Mick is Heather’s partner and we thought we’d have a bit of a laugh,” added Holmes. “He’s not really got a fan club and, even if he did, I doubt even his missus would join!”
. . . but it’s another Produce second for the consistent Mark My Words
THE Paul Sallis-trained Mark My Words found another too good for him in Nottingham’s £15,000 Produce Stakes final on Monday, going down by almost six lengths in chasing home a much improved winner in the shape of Go Go Sonic.
Mark My Words had earlier also finished second in Swindon’s Two-Year-Old Produce Stakes in July but the Swadlincote-based Sallis would have lost little sleep over the Nottingham defeat as the race was won by his other runner in the final, Go Go Sonic!