Elaine Parker maintained her role as the Queen of Sheffield when finishing top trainer once again writes Floyd Amphlett.
She finished the year with 421 winners, of which 125 were open race winners, some 43 clear of closest rival Barrie Draper.
She said: “We always have been 60-70 dogs on the strength and about 90 in the kennel. That’s a big percentage of fit dogs and that’s all down to the physio Darrell Hopper, son of the former trainer Dave.
“Darrell learned a lot off his dad and then got his qualifications as a physio and he is brilliant. He comes here every week, as well as a growing number of kennels, and we couldn’t do without him. He is worth every penny.
“Over the years, Sheffield has had its problems but it has been very safe for a long time now, despite all the bad weather. The track is well maintained, the top grade is very good quality and the restaurant is brilliant. You should see the deals they are doing on a Tuesday in the winter!
“The whole place is always well run, and if you have a serious problem, you can always knock on John Gilburn’s door. However way you look at it, Sheffield is one of the best tracks in the country.
“I sometimes get asked why we don’t do more open racing, and the answer is simple. Most of the owners would rather run their dogs at Sheffield, and so would I.”
Ballymac Hawkeye and Russanda Brax were Sheffield most prolific winners in 2015 with 16 races apiece at Sheffield.
Hawkeye (Westmead Hawk-Ballymac Penske, Mar 12), a litter brother to Irish star Vulturi, went to traps on 55 occasions for Elaine Parker, predominantly in A1.
Kennelmate Russanda Brax (Black Shaw-Ballymac Floss, Aug 12) had an even better strike rate, his victories coming from only 37 races. The British bred ‘Three Steps’ runner-up had wins over 480 (27.78), 500 (28.82) and 660 (39.25) metres.
The most prolific open race winner also hailed from the Parker range – Biddys Fire (Droopys Scolari-Longford Lady, Jun 12).This amazing bitch won 15 of her 25 races over three different distances and was only out of the first three once.
Elaine said: “We have just retired her and she has gone back to her breeder in Ireland. Everything she did was after a bad shoulder injury that she picked up the year before, and in her final race, she did it again.
Trap 3 had the best record for all BAGS races with 453 victories, John Sharp had the best profit to a £1 stake from all of his greyhounds. If you backed all of Johns graded runners last year you would be £13.48 in profit.
Racing office pups to follow
OUR BOSCO bk d (Shaneboy Lee-Pretty Mix, Feb 14)
Trained by Jamie Smith, he has won 2 out of 3 races here at Sheffield. He won an A3 by 7 lengths on debut, finished 2nd in an A2 and then won an open race last night. His best time to date is 29.32, he has tremendous early pace, and if he can smarten up his trapping he could turn into a very nice greyhound. The 500m trip around here may just be pushing his stamina, I could imagine the greyhound being very good over a slightly shorter trip, our 480M trip would seem ideal.
CANDLELIGHT FIRE bk d (Ballymac Vic-Droopys Peaches, Apr 14)
Trained by Elaine Parker, he has won his last four 500 metre open races here at Sheffield. Including heat and final of the Ryan Holmes puppy cup. He has very good early pace and seems to have benefitted from running out of traps 5 and 6, despite him being seeded middle. He is an April ’14 pup that has already clocked a very impressive 28.88. He was bred by Elaine, and I’m sure he will make a mark on the open race scene in 2016.
Elaine said: “He is out of the same dam as Candlelight King, and to be honest, I think he could be even better. I think he could be very special indeed. We haven’t made any plans for him, but we may go for the Monmore Puppy Derby.”
BALLYMAC RAMSEY be d (Droopys Scolari-Ballymac Razl, Mar 14)
Trained by Barrie Draper, he has won 5 out of 9 races, all in open race class. He was a finalist in the Puppy Derby in 2015, he won heat and semi-final. He has already won races around Sheffield, Monmore and Wimbledon and has posted some impressive times at each of these venues. Sheffield,500m-28.78 (first ever race). Monmore 480m-28.01 and Wimbledon,480m-28.60.
