Phil McComish – 2023 version
When Phil McComish handed in his training licence in 2007, he was held up as an example of a failing industry. The generation of great trainers that included Charlie Lister, Nick Savva and the two Lindas (Mullins and Jones), had hung up their leads. Here was a successful young trainer who couldn’t make it pay. What hope for the future?
Well Phil is back – as a GBGB Stipendiary Steward – with no regrets, but a love of the sport that has never faded – writes Floyd Amphlett.
Phil McComish came from a Midlands greyhound family. His grandad and dad were both flapping men and in the 13 years that he held a licence, his reputation was one of a young guy who was sending out plenty of big race winners, but also popular with his fellow trainers and racing offices for his positive and friendly attitude.
His successes included the the 2000 Puppy Derby with Navigation Lad, the 2001 Summer Cup with Santas Supreme, the 2002 Midland Oaks with Tullerboy Lass and the 2005 Racing Post Juvenile with Toms View. Marathon star Travel Now collected one of the seven track records broken by the kennel who in their most successful year sent out 92 open race winners.
Looking back Phil says: “I started out with four or five decent open racers, which is the dream. I absolutely loved it, but it was impossible to make it pay. So you build up the kennel to make it financially viable and at what stage we had 115 dogs including pups. But the sacrifice is too great when you have a young family.
“It was actually a time issue, more than the financial situation, that killed it for me. If it wasn’t racing, it was the commitment that the dogs took up. I would often be down the kennel to let the dogs out at 9pm and that wasn’t fair to my wife or young daughter.”
So Phil went to work for a housing association. He took qualifications in business development and ended up on the regulatory side of that industry enforcing orders in disputes between tenants or acting as a Housing Association Officer in civil actions.
But when the opportunity came up to come back into greyhound racing with a new role, he jumped at the chance. His stipe role covers 70 kennels plus Henlow, Towcester and his old track Nottingham.
So is this a different industry to the one he left?
Phil says: “Massively different. You look at how the Board has changed things, the Good Life For Every Greyhound initiative, the Injury Recovery Scheme, the Greyhound Retirement Scheme, there has been so much change for the better. It’s great to be back.”
Does that mean that your days as a trainer are over?
Phil said: “You never know, when I retire from this, I would love to have four or five open racers again, just for fun. That’s the dream isn’t it?”
