Posts tagged Mark Wallis
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
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
Jogadusc Ace comes up trumps
Dec 18th
Jogadusc Ace (2-1 favourite) clinched an important victory for Mark Wallis on Thursday night when he went on to represent his trainer in the final of the Winter Derby.
The competition at Henlow’s 460m track began with a classy turnout, but it was always Ace who made the headlines from the beginning through to the end, producing the fastest-track-time of the night in his last three races.
Ace began the race behind trap three, which Wallis said would work to his advantage, since it was his favourite trap.
Indeed, Ace certainly made a good start, gaining a comfortable lead initially, though he was forced to really make use of reserves towards the end in a battle to survive a very tight photo-finish call, clocking 27.48secs.
Camp McNair received the biggest blow of the night, as Droopys Bogart (9-4) came in second at 27.49secs. Both Ace and Bogart cleared from the pack in the early stages, but it was Ace who prevailed to land his camp £2,500. A great asset to the camp, Ace had also earlier bagged the camp a cool £40,000 in the Sunderland Classic final earlier in the year.
The victory provides the perfect end to the year for Ace, and should also help Wallis. The GBGB annual awards are just around the corner, and the points gained from the event will put him in a very strong position for clinching the Champion Trainers award for the second year running.
B.Shah
Champion trainer Geoff De Mulder dies
Dec 11th
News on Friday of the death of legendary trainer Geoff De Mulder has sent sadness throughout the greyhound world. He was suffering from an illness and passed away, aged 79.
Mulder was hugely respected and seen to be one of the best greyhound trainers of all time, with an endless list of top class winners throughout the 1960′s to the 1990′s.
He will be best remembered for his two Derby winners, Jimsun (1974) and Sarahs Bunny (1979), back in the days when the Derby was still being run at White City.
Current champion trainer Mark Wallis also spoke of having the pleasure of speaking to him on occasions, and fondly recalls him remarking on the excellent condition of his dogs, adding “praise from someone of his standing was praise indeed”.
A lifelong friend of De Mulder and another iconic trainer, Charlie Lister, said: “He was a marvellous trainer, a brilliant trainer, one of the best there has been, but above that he was a very good friend.
The service for De Mulder will be at Cannon Hill Chapel, Cannon Hill Road, Coventry at 10.30am on Tuesday 22 December, with the burial at St Lawrence’s Churchyard, Meriden an hour later. Lister will be leading the tributes.
B.Shah