Three and a half years after deciding that his breeding days were over, Dave Firmager landed a first major prize as Romeo Rumble landed the GBGF/Nottingham British Breeders Stakes.
The British Breeders Stakes was created to replace the defunct Breeders Forum Produce Stakes (different to Swindon’s Two Year Old Produce Stakes) which switched from Harringay to Wembley, to Hall Green and finally to Nottingham. It is a competition that Firmager won four times as owner/breeder/trainer with his ‘Romeo’ boys and ‘Fabulous’ girls.
On Monday night, the opportunity fell to Romeo Rumble. The John Mullins trained 12-1 outsider duly led throughout. (click on result to see replay)
Although the winner was a surprise, the Nottingham regulars will have enjoyed it going to ‘one of their own’. Although hugely successful in business – his construction company will turn over £22m this year – the Melton Mowbray handler is happiest among East Midlands greyhound folk.
So why did Firmager decide to give up greyhounds back in 2016?
He said: “I had a lot going on in business at the time. I had eight litters on the ground, around 250 greyhounds in total. I was employing eight full time staff to look after them, but wasn’t seeing enough of the dogs myself. I had staffing issues with a high turnover of people who didn’t see greyhounds as a long term commitment and I grew a bit disillusioned. Also I had some serious health issues. It just got on top of me.
“I re-homed all but one of my original broods. There was an opportunity to sell a few of them, but I preferred that they went as loved pets. The only one we kept was Fabulous Pin (Bombastic Shiraz-Fabulous March), whose litter brother, Romeo Recruit, won the Produce Stakes in 2012.
“Nicola suggested that we have a litter out of Pin, and they really have been incredible; there were four of them on Monday’s card.
“When they schooled we realised that they could run a bit and I sent Rumble to Graham Holland. He won his first race at Limerick in 28.72, but since then has been a bit disappointing. He is slightly quirky with a funny action but he has won a £7,500 race so how can I be disappointed?”
Since the litter drew their first breath, Firmager has invested in open racer Drive On Betsy, who has just returned to John Mullins after a spell in season.
Dave said: “I originally wanted to have a mating using Fernando Bale, but when it turned out there were no straws left in Ireland, I looked around for a litter by him and bought Betsy off Chris Donovan. Hopefully we will have a litter with her too.”
So how many litters are in the planning?
Dave says: “It depends if you want the honest answer. I’ll be telling Nicola three or four but it will probably be six. There is a break after the Rumble litter (Jun 17) until December 2018. We have some Kinloch Braes out of Fabulous Pin and some Magical Bale pups out of Fabulous Artist, plus a couple of Coolavanny Jap pups out of Beaming Olive.
“You put a great deal of investment in a litter, and I am not talking financial, I mean time and effort. But I am planning on easing back on work and the pups gave me a reason to cut out drink and get up in a morning.”
** The owner/trainer was philosophical following a racing incident earlier in the evening when Fabulous Carmel, a litter sister to Romeo Rumble, was distracted on the backstraight, along with leader Headford Ranger. The race was allowed to stand, much to the irritation of some RPGTV viewers.
Firmager said: “It looked to me as though the leader was expecting the hare to stop and our bitch was then distracted by him. I have heard all sorts of theories about what is supposed to have happened, including criticism of the hare driving. I haven’t watched the replay but my initial impression was that it was just one of those things that sometimes happens in racing.
“Unfortunately, there seems to be a group of people who have it in for Nottingham and look for any opportunity to have a go at them. I have had issues with the track over the years, but that doesn’t alter the fact that it is an extremely well run track, absolutely spotless, and somewhere you could take anybody along for a good night out.”
Liz Mort presents the BGBF Breeders Stakes trophy to David Firmager after Romeo Rumble’s victory. Also pictured from L-R Carl Perry, John Mullins, Nicola Firmager and Mark Pierrepont.Photo: © Steve Nash
