“When I was a kid I used to visit an aunt in Bicester and she would take me to Oxford which I grew to love. So when I saw that that the Pall Mall was coming back, I knew I had to have a runner. Then I couldn’t believe it when they said the first prize would be £20,000.
“By Saturday night, the plan was six months in the making. I had Maverick in the best condition I possibly could. I talked with my dad about the race and there was a slight concern about Hawkfield Ozark on his inside. But we had a few spots in hand on the splits, and I was convinced that we could still lead by the bend.
“Then as I was in the paddock putting on his racing jacket, my ring walk-in song started to play on the loudspeakers. Sweet Caroline. I had a little smile to myself and thought, ‘now I know this is written in the star.”
Then this happened
Recommended by greyhound agent Barry Rocks, Maverick was 16 wins in the last 17 races, which included the Northern Puppy Derby, and Tom blames himself for that sole defeat which came after he led and was picked up in the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby Final at Monmore.
Tom said: “I trained him wrong. I had it in my mind that because he was an early paced front runner, he couldn’t take a lot of work. After the Monmore final I ran him in a Cat 3 race at Sunderland and he won his heat in 26.74. Between the heats and the final I gave him two gallops and he came out and did 26.44. ”
That run was just three spots off the track record. Maverick did set the clock for Oxford’s 450 though that was eclipsed by Coolavanny Shado on Friday night.
Maverick trials at Monmore tonight.
Tom said: “The plan is to go for Gold Cup and possibly the Yarmouth Derby, though the timing is quite tight. The Monmore final is on August 26 with the Yarmouth first round a week later, so I wouldn’t be able to get a trial into him. Then it’s the Classic at Sunderland and if all goes to plan, the All England Cup.”
Six months in the planning – Tom and Maverick at Oxford
Tom currently has 38 greyhounds in kennels and a litter of Blue Tick George/Jumeirah Liberty pups in the paddocks. Whether that situation continues into next year, remains to be seen.
Like Jimmy Wright, Tom had been contemplating leaving Newcastle when the track was owned by William Hill.
He said: “When ARC took over, most of the Newcastle trainers had agreed to boycott open racing there. Rachel (Corden) came in and got it sorted. Prize money went up significantly but most of that has now been eaten away by costs.
“I used to charge eight pounds per day with extras for things like physio. Now it is a flat £300 per dog per month, 30 or 31 days and it is almost impossible to break even.
“I don’t take a penny for myself, I have a job that supports that. I have 30 men working offshore on scaffolding and rope scaffolding. But I have three full time staff and two part-timers in the kennel and I refuse to only pay minimum wage. If there is an early start and open racing, you might be asking people to work 16 hours. They are entitled to their holidays and so am I.
“In my view, the graded dogs at Newcastle should be getting £100 per runner when the new deal with Entain kicks in. If it doesn’t happen, I’m thinking of turning my kennels into boarding kennels.
“If I put my pet into a boarding kennels it costs £600 per month, twice what I charge, and all you have to do is keep them alive for a month.
“I do think that more could be done by the tracks and GBGB to encourage trainers. How often do tracks only put on a couple of runners and then expect a trainer to tie up a vehicle and a staff member for half a day? Or give the trainer two runners with one in the second race and one in the last? There is no need for that.
“Look how long it takes for registrations to come through. My phone never stops ringing with people asking me to take dogs, but a guy will say, I’ve got £500 for a cheap dog, and I have to tell him, that with bonds and kennel bills waiting for trials and registrations, he won’t get any change out of £1,400.
“I will continue to train. I love the sport and would miss the banter, but would probably set aside six single kennels and just go open racing.”
“I’ve just seen the new Space Jet”
The email message came from former Walthamstow Racing Manager Tony Smith last week.
He was referring to Innfield Charm, a litter sister of New Destiny, who had romped up by 10 lengths in a 750 yard novice race at Shelbourne Park. Her winning time was almost 10 lengths off the fastest time of the year, though it was a very wet night and the black didn’t hit the front until the fifth bend.
What wasn’t widely known at the time was that Charm was already destined to join the Links Kennel.
Tom said: “She was recommended by Barry Clancy who has never put me wrong. We actually bought her before she ran a sprint trial at Shelbourne. Barry told me that he had plenty of enquiries offering big numbers after she’d won. She will be over shortly.
“Barry also sent me over a nice young dog called Links Weapon who had one trial on his card at Newbridge (29.03) and has broken 29.00 in qualifying at Newcastle.”
Of the rest of the team, sprinter Dubh Gasta has been in great form, as has Innfield Trojan. Puppy Links Dasher won on the Pall Mall supporting card while the slightly quirky Darbys Delight – the fastest dog over the Newcastle and Sheffield stayers trips this year – can still go with the best, when he is on his best behaviour.
Tom said: “He was close to being disqualified at Newcastle but they gave him the benefit of doubt. But we know that is in him. I think he would stay a marathon. I was going to enter him at Oxford. The racing office were decent enough to tell me that most of the other marathons hadn’t filled so I didn’t bother. Then it did fill.
“You know quite know though with a dog like Darby, whether the extra distance would give him more opportunity to fight, or the fact that he would have more chances of getting on the bunny, might mean he just pulls clear.
“He is coming towards the end of his career now now, so it wouldn’t be a disaster if did get his card marked.”
