All roads lead to Shelbourne. Everything else virtually comes to a standstill in preparation for the Irish Derby which starts a week on Thursday.

I haven’t finalised my team yet, but as things stand, our runners will include: Sidarian Vega, Sidarian Teejay, Ballydoyle Honey, Clares Wonder, Amazing Dude, Rural Hawaii, Riverside Pat, Gaytime Hawk, Calzaghe Clampet and Hovex Prince.

Of those, I am reasonably happy with most of them excluding Clares Wonder and Gaytime Hawk who haven’t really been the same dogs since Wimbledon.

We’ve had a bit of success over the last couple of years, but have never won the Irish Derby, which I would love to do. The closest we came was with Cabra Buck who finished second to Slippery Robert and probably made the race for him.

I much prefer the Irish Derby to the English version, for various reasons. I have previously said that I don’t like to see dogs running three times in a week, particularly when you are asking them to run 700 yards to the pick-up.

Prize money is also an issue. If you make the second round of the Irish Derby, with probably four to qualify, you get your entry fee back. At Wimbledon you have to make the quarter-finals to get your £300.

The rules and regulations in England make it a real pain for trainers travelling over from Ireland. You have to stay in registered kennels which brings its own problems.

Eric (Cantillon) was a superb host. He could not have been kinder but two trainers trying to use the same premises at the same time will never be simple. Eric might want to feed or paddock his dogs at a different time to me and the dogs routines are completely thrown out.

Then there is the aggravation about things like trialling. In Ireland, everywhere bar Shelbourne, run unofficial trials. You just turn up, trial your dog and go home.

In England you have to book them, travel whatever distance and then kennel up for a couple of hours. It is not as though there are loads to schooling tracks to choose from.

 

I would hate anyone to think that I criticise England too much, but I only think I am trying to be constructive. Ireland has its own issues.

I have previously mentioned the automatic grading system which decides the grades that a dog will run in.

Basically, in my opinion, it encourages cheating. The quickest way to get your dog back into a grade that it can win is to deliberately run it down the field. I am not saying that everyone cheats, but clearly some people must be tempted.

But that situation is made worse by automatic going allowances. We know that some tracks naturally run faster or slower than others, and there is a system in place which states that a certain track may run 20 or 30 spots faster or slower than standard.

Under the rules, a racing manager can alter that by taking account of the state of the going, depending on the time of year. But in many cases they can’t be bothered.

I had an example recently where a dog won on a track that was absolutely flying, virtually every dog found time on the night.

Suddenly, an average dog is automatically upgraded for months, even if he didn’t win.

Okay, it might suit the lucky owner who has a ’28.80 dog’ who just happens to win in 28.50 on a ‘flying night’ when the dog is for sale. But there will always be a flip side, when the track is slower. In the end no one benefits.

I had an owner asking me an opinion about buying a dog this week. The dog beat a very moderate field by a long way in a fast time. I suggested he go back and check out the form, because there were some regular graders at the track who all found time on the night.

In fact, this particular dog hadn’t even led to the third bend when he had finally got past an average A4 bitch who did her best ever time. It’s not hard to follow if you do your homework.

I am also concerned that the IGB is bringing in extra regulations as they attempt to sell racing abroad. There has been a crackdown on using phones on parade and kids parading dogs.

I have never seen a child parading a dog that wasn’t capable of handling it. The steward just wouldn’t allow it. Yet you risk alienating the young people who are the future of the industry.

Are these things really going to make racing more saleable?

Ireland is geared to producing and selling greyhounds. Qualifying a decent young puppy, virtually unschooled, and then winning in a decent time is what it is all about. Winning novice stakes with pups was what helped put us on the map when we first arrived in Ireland.

Introducing too many rules and regulations will drive people out of the game. Most people here don’t want Irish racing to become like England.

There are sensible things that can be done and there are people who could guide the Irish industry in the right direction.

Former Shelbourne manager Paddy Ryan is a great example of someone who knows this business inside out. The fact that he isn’t a director of the Irish Greyhound Board is a wasted opportunity in my opinion.