Charlie Lister with Some Picture who won the Know Something Stakes and the Eclipse at Nottingham pic Steve Nash
The most successful trainer in the history of the English Derby has leapt to the defense of Nottingham following some adverse comments of the circuit on RPGTV.
The recently retired handler visited his first greyhound track in six months on Thursday when accompanying Chris Akers to a trial session at Colwick Park.
He said: “Pat and I have been taking life easy. We are only just back from our holiday home in Filey. The weather has been great but it was nice to visit the dogs and see some old faces again.
“Although I don’t go racing, I still sometimes watch it on the TV and I wanted to say something about Nottingham.
“I’ve heard two or three of these young experts having a pop about Nottingham. ‘Is is the right track for the Derby?’ or ‘it’s not a good Derby track’. I’ve never heard such rubbish.
“I raced there regularly for over 35 years and put every one of my seven Derby winners around the place. It is a great track, and better than Towcester in my opinion. Yes, you need a strong running dog and it is a great run from the last bend.
“If I was trying to work out whether they were good enough, I would always put it around Nottingham. It has always been a great test of a good dog.
“Rachel and Nathan (Corden) work really hard and you can be sure that they will put on a great Derby.”
