For the third consecutive year, the Arena Racing Company Puppy Cup saw punters get bloody noses and former local grader Ballybough Mags turned over the hotpot youngster Glenvale Bill. This is how she did it. . . .
In a world where the biggest prize gets the most attention, and certainly the most TV exposure, there might be a temptation to underplay a Cat Two puppy final staged just 24 hours before the Greyhound Derby Final.
Wrong!! For so many reasons.
As far as the track was concerned, it was a buzzing, well attended night’s racing.
Track boss Joanne Wilson said: “What a night it was! The whole event proved a huge success and I would like to thank all connections for supporting the event and show casing the up and coming stars of our sport. Despite the wet weather, the atmosphere was electric attracting one of the biggest crowds so far this year at Sunderland.”
No – it isn’t Ireland – this is the Mackems turning out in force to support one of their own. Harry said: “The person who deserves most credit for this is Glenn Foot, who is my business partner. He is the one who put all the work into Mags. Glenn was a very sucessful local boxer who was followed by a lot of locals and they turned out in force to support him on the night.”
For trainer Harry Burton, who has been surrounded by hounds of various sorts since he was a boy, it was the highlight of his training career.
Harry Burton
Originally a ‘whippet man’, Harry got his first greyhound when he was 15 and raced him on his local flapping track, Pelaw Grange
He says: “I was born in Ashington, just like Jimmy Fenwick and his dad Wanny, though Jimmy reckons he comes from Morpeth. I always tell him that he is a bit of a Morpeth snob.”
Harry spent years is Saluki cross coursing, winning the prestigious Foley Cup on three occasions, and when hunting with hounds was banned, he had some tough decisions to make.
He said: “The guy who I did the coursing with got into gun dogs. I did consider getting into Huskeys, but my daughter who was about twelve at the time persuaded me to get back involved with the greyhounds. By that stage, Pelaw was running under rules and Terry Meynall, who was the Newcastle boss at the time, said ‘get some experience at Pelaw and there will be a place for you at Newcastle.'”
Terry was as good as his word and Harry trains at Newcastle as well as keeping a few on the strength at Pelaw.
So how did he come by Ballybough Mags?
He said: “I have a very good owner and friend in Stephen Johnson who bred a few and had dogs with me for years. He bought a half share in Mags when she was trained by Chantelle McNicholas as Sunderland. He had the chance to buy the other half. She wasn’t a dear bitch.”
Exact figures haven’t been disclosed though the white and black paid for herself many times over on Friday night.
Guess whose kennel!
Harry said: “I wasn’t even there, I had runners at Newcastle that afternoon, but everybody got such a buzz from the day. I can’t thank Sunderland enough. We are only a small kennel and I don’t have owners in the kennel who could afford ten or twenty thousand pound dogs. Races like this keep owners in the game.”
As far as future plans are concerned?
Harry said: “We will give her a week off, but then think about The Angel Of The North. She has already won well at Newcastle (28.77) but I expect her to come on from that. To be honest, she still really isn’t at her best. She had a couple of little niggles after the semi final and had a couple of visits to the physio.
“I would expect much more improvement from her. She is a lovely genuine, uncomplicated little bitch.”
Like many trainers, Harry sees the re-homing issue as the biggest issue facing trainers.
He said: “First of all, this isn’t any kind of complaint about ARC. If they hadn’t bought Newcastle from William Hill, I wouldn’t be in the game now. That is me and at least six other Newcastle trainers I could name without thinking about it.
“Rehoming is an industry issue affecting trainers throughout the country.
“I have spaces for 40 dogs and nine of those places are taken by retired dogs. That makes it very hard to earn a living. Remember, even the dogs who aren’t retired include some who are off for a short time with minor injuries.
“Although I get on really well with the local home finding kennels, they will tell you straight off that they don’t want dogs who have had broken legs. They simply won’t take them due to the veterinary complications.
“While the GBGB will cover the cost of the injuries, some of those dogs have been with me for a year. I’m not the only one. You go to any track in the country and there are trainers with the same problems.
“Around here there are people struggling to feed their kids, the last thing they need is to feed a 70 pound greyhound. The other affect is that it means some dogs who might be retired are still racing. Don’t get me wrong, my dogs love their racing and look forward to it. But once they get to four and a half I think to myself, ‘how much longer do I want to keep him going?’
“I don’t know that the solution is, but I do think that the betting industry is going to have to dig deeper. The most obvious solution is for GBGB to fund intermediate kennels where these retired dogs could go before they are re-homed. I realise that eventually they will fill up too, but unless trainers get a chance to use those kennel spaces, they will be forced out of the industry.”
