“Although we didn’t breed them, we reared Goldies Hoddle and Goldies Ginola here and enjoy watching them progress. I can see Hoddle being a 23.80 Romford dog when he is a bit older.” – Patrick Janssens – March 2019
“Among the battlers, I would include dogs like Goldies Ginola and Goldies Hoddle. They are not top class by any stretch, but their strike rates are right up there. You need dogs like that in every kennel.” – Patrick Janssens, August 2019
On Friday night Goldies Hoddle fulfilled the potential first spotted by his trainer a year ago by landing the Category One Coral Golden Sprint Final.
At the time of that first quote, Hoddle, who had began his career in A4 at Central Park, had two Romford race wins on his card in 24.42 and 24.43 (N). Although he is still to fulfill his trainer’s prediction (!!), Hoddle’s 23.86 winning time brought reward for a dog arguably ‘more Billy Sharp, than Glen Hoddle’.
Patrick said: “He is such a lovely genuine consistent dog. Sometimes you get dogs with all the ability in the world but without the commitment. A dog like Kilmore Lemon had both, and he was a different league to Hoddle in all honesty.
“But then you have a dog like Seaglass Phantom, who could probably do a 23.50 in a trial at Romford, but would probably finish last in a six-dog race.
“I’ve come across a few like Hoddle in my time in dogs. When I was working with Mark we had a dog called Sol Late Late at Walthamstow. He was no more than a genuine top grade runner but he won the invitation at the Racing Post Festival.
“Sometimes, you have a dog who is just a fraction short of top class but they don’t get any luck. I am thinking of a dog like Directors Chair, who might have won a Cat 1 final but was beaten in two Champion Stakes Finals by dogs of the calibre of Eye Onthe Veto and Lenson Joker.
“Hoddle and his brother Ginola won 23 open races between them last year, and that takes some doing.
“I will probably switch him back to sprints, probably the Silver Salver, though he isn’t a real sprinter. He traps well but has a flat spot that genuine sprinters like Lambeth Way can really exploit. But if he can get as far as the second bend in front, his middle distance pace kicks in as we saw last night.
“It is always nice to win races for Andy Pelley; owners like him are gold dust. He absolutely loves his greyhounds, even those that don’t make it always end up being rehomed with good people.”
Click on result to see video replay
Golden Sprint winner Goldies Hoddle and owner Andy Pelley (right) are joined on the Romford podium by his son Sam (left) and Cheryl and Patrick Janssens. Photo: © Steve Nash
