The dogs came from far and wide to contest Saturday’s Carlsberg Kent St.Leger heats, but none of the owners surely traveled further than Gary Vincent?
Vincent, owner of Captain Svendog, actually set out on Friday to drive from his home near Swaffham to trainer Pete Wellon’s kennel near Gloucester. The following afternoon, the licensed kennelhand set out for Crayford with his beloved Svendog who led gallantly until the last bend before finishing second to Droopys Doonbeg.
Suitably buoyed by backing his 16-1 shot to be placed, Gary then set off back to Gloucester before arriving back home in Norfolk at around 4am.
He said: “It wasn’t too bad because I drove down to see a few mates and have a couple of beers on the Friday. It was about three and a half hours to Gloucester, and then another three from Gloucester to Crayford. This Saturday, I will do the whole trip in one day.”
Vincent, who held a trainers licence ten years ago, has two ex-racers at home and bought Svendog from Seamus Cahill as a puppy. So why does he run at Hall Green?
Vincent said: “He ran at Hove for a period and then ran S1 at Crayford, but I have never liked the idea of a trainer having more than one runner in a race, and it happened quite a lot. I’ve know Pete Wellon for many years as a mate and asked if he would take the dog for me. He said that he would, but he wasn’t prepared to travel for opens, which wasn’t a problem for me. So I became his kennelhand.
“I’m not making any predictions about Saturday. He will be a big price again, but he doesn’t know that. He runs the track well, and I would expect him to find time since last week which was his first run over the longer distance in nine months. It would be a dream come true to make the final,”
Gary will have ample time to consider the Captain’s chances on Saturday – all 660 miles worth!
