Posts tagged b.shah
Wallis issues Storm warning
Jan 28th
Mark Wallis, champion trainer of 2008, will most likely retain his champion trainer title at this Sunday’s GBGB award ceremony. Wallis was ranked the highest at the end of 2009 with regard to the most victories gained. All in all, the night should prove to be a good one for him and his camp to celebrate their achievements across the past year. However, 2010 hasn’t quite started as smoothly for his camp.
The weather has been the main problem to the start of the year, not only for Wallis, but for most trainers and even tracks, but to complicate things further, his Imperial kennels have been hit by a savage virus in the last 10 days.
Wallis has said the greyhounds that do not have the bug seem fine and have been bouncing, as the worst thing you can do is run them when they are not a hundred per cent.
Kinda Ready, his Derby winner, was the first star Wallis brought back to fitness, and the dog returned showing no signs of change, as he delivered a blistering effort clocking 15.06secs (normal) round the two-bender at the Birmingham track a week ago.
This week, it was the Betfred Eclipse winner, Eye Onthe Storm who was put to the test on the tracks, managing to clock 14.35secs on Hall Greens 233m track.
Wallis has plans for Storm with the Racing Post Juvenille Championship around the corner, and Storm will make a great contender if he gets back to normal fitness. Storm currently holds a record of 12 wins in his last 14 and that says this year big things will be expected from this dog, and Wallis expects him to improve considerably.
Storm is also currently the favourite in ante-post markets to take the Wimbledon Derby this year.
Wallis said in the Racing Post: “He had the sickness a couple of weeks ago, but is absolutely fine now.”
“ He’d done very little since his last run on Oaks night at Wimbledon last month, and we decided to trial him over the shorter sprint trip at Hall Green [they also stage sprints over 258 metres]. The going was slow, and Eye Onthe Storm went well.”
The Racing Post Juvenille final will be televised on Sky on the March 2nd.
B.Shah
Derby winner ready, willing and able
Jan 21st
Derby winner Kinda Ready made his return to the track at Monmore for a two-bend trial run on Tuesday.
Trainer Mark Wallis brought his star back to fitness following a loss of form and a winter break, where Ready enjoyed time off with his breeders, Ian and Brenda Seymour.
His return showed no signs of change, as he delivered a blistering effort clocking 15.06secs (normal) round the two-bender at the Birmingham track.
“He obviously likes Monmore, and it’s such a great track for a dog to run on. At this stage a sprint there is ideal for him,” Wallis said.
“After that run, I might give him a four-bender at the track next week as he’s obviously bouncing.”
“The Trainers’ Championship isn’t that far away and the dog needs six to eight weeks to get fit.”
The expectation for Ready was to produce something in the region of 15.40-15.50sec, so he seems to be heading in the right direction so far.
Ante-post markets are currently offering odds of 66-1 for Ready to take this year’s Derby. His kennel mate Eye Onthe Storm is the current market favourite at 14-1.
B.Shah
Carlsberg Gold Cup voided
Jan 11th
The Carlsberg Gold Cup, held at Henlow, has been voided due to the recent effects of the weather which forced the meeting to continuously be postponed; a date for the final can now no longer be found.
The Carlsberg Gold Cup has created history, as it can now claim to be the longest three-round competition in UK greyhound racing.
It was December 14th when the first round kick-started, with the semis eventually taking placing on December 28th. Phil Mellor, the racing manager groaned about the length of time, commenting: “It’s been going almost a month now.” With the Betfair Prestige under way and one of the finalists, Droopys Carvalho taking part, it was the best decision to make.
Trainers have been very understanding and will be compensated with £100 each, and also a special invitation race which is yet to be organised when convenient for all finalists.
Mellor added: “I can only apologise, it’s been a horrible time for everyone, but hopefully we’ve turned a corner.”
Del Burrows, a local layer is refunding all bets on the event. “I’ve taken advice, it’s the sensible and fairest thing to do,” he said yesterday in the Racing Post. The event has not been completed, and under ante-post rules its void.
B.Shah
Kinda Ready to return
Jan 5th
Kinda Ready, the 2009 Blue Square Derby champion, bagged his camp £100,000 with the victory at Wimbledon’s 480m track last summer. Ready was a 66-1 shot at the start of the competition and was an underdog in the final itself, offering last bets of 25-1, which would have surely pleased his backers as he shocked the crowd that night.
Ready’s performance followed with a disappointing campaign in the Paddy Power-sponsored Irish equivalent at Shelbourne, and has been enjoying time-off to rest ever since, with his breeders Ian and Brenda Seymour.
He is now back with trainer Mark Wallis and is set to take the first steps to defend his crown at Wimbledon.
Wallis said yesterday in the Racing Post: “He came back to Imperial Kennels just before Christmas and looks particularly well. It’s lovely to have him back. Obviously, with the weather as bad as it is at present, there’s not much we can do with him.
The Derby will now be sponsored by William Hills, who have slashed the first prize money to £75,000, still a massive prize.
Ready currently stands at 100-1; the current favourite is his kennelmate Eye On The Storm who has had a terrific year with an extraordinary winning record which may give him an edge in winning the Greyhound of the Year title later this month.
B.Shah
Weather chaos at Sheffield, Poole and Ireland
Jan 5th
Tuesday night’s meeting at Sheffield was forced to cancel due to the horrific weather conditions the nation has been hit with. The freezing conditions have not had much effect on the track as it looks to be in raceable condition. The real problem lies in the surrounding area, which has been completely gridlocked and would be very hazardous for trainers attempting to make it to the track.
Assistant operations manager Dave Perry said in the Racing Post: “We’re looking at the situation day by day but I’m as confident as I can be under the current circumstances that we’ll be back racing on Thursday”.
Ireland seems to have been hit harder, as its Dublin track has announced that racing could commence from Friday at the earliest. Poole also lost its Tuesday meeting due to a frozen track.
B.Shah
Paddy Power axe Irish Derby backing
Dec 20th
The Irish Greyhound Board have announced that Paddy Power Bookmakers will no longer be sponsoring the Irish Derby. The news comes at a bad time for the Irish Greyhound Board with the government also having announced it is to cut funding to the sport by 13%.
Paddy Power has been sponsoring the Irish Derby for the last 10 years, in which time they have invested over €1m into the Irish greyhound industry, and have helped transform the Irish Greyhound Derby into one of the richest greyhound races in the world.
CEO Adrian Neilan of the Irish Greyhound Board said: “The Derby is our showcase event and takes a rightful place at the high point of the Irish sporting calendar in September. Furthermore, the Greyhound Derby captures the hearts and minds of the people of Ireland and is much more than a sporting event. This is what makes it so special.
“Down the years and as recently as this summer, we have received approaches as to its availability for sponsorship. We have now begun the process of discussing the event with a select number of possible partners and are confident of securing an agreement that will be of great benefit to a commercial company and to the greyhound racing industry.
“We wish to thank Paddy Power for their support over the past ten years.
“Paddy Power is now worth over £1.2 billion in market capitalisation and has witnessed unprecedented growth over the last decade. The sport of Irish greyhound racing is proud to be associated with this growth, and feel that sponsor title exposure through the Irish Greyhound Derby has reinforced the Paddy Power brand to both a national and worldwide audience.
“This now creates an opportunity for other companies to build a lasting attachment with the sport and to again use the association with this great event to deliver enormous value for its shareholders.”
Paddy Powers marketing guru Paddy Power said: “It has been a wonderful sponsorship for us. While we are not renewing our sponsorship of the Irish Greyhound Derby for a fourth term, we will continue to investigate all opportunities to support this industry through sponsorship and other activity.”
B.Shah