I have been checking the weather forecasts this week and hopefully things look good for next weekend which will go down well with Brigadier Bullet.
The Brigadier really does not like the cold so a mild snap for the start of the Ladbrokes Golden Jacket starts next Saturday would be a big plus.
Greyhounds are tremendous creatures of habit and insist on being let out according to a routine. But when the cold weather strikes, they want to get back to their kennels almost as soon as we let them out. By the time Brigadier is due out for the second time of the day, he needs a bit of persuading to get off his bed.
He has won his last two races at Crayford and I think he is a worthy favourite to win the competition.
Before he ran in the Coronation Stakes Final I said he looked too short in the betting, given that he would have to come from behind some quality greyhounds over a distance which is short of his optimum.
I think the 714m at Crayford is a lot closer to his ideal, though I would probably say his perfect trip was probably something like the 660 at Perry Barr. But at 4-1 or 5-1, I think the ante post betting is pretty accurate. Even more so in better weather with less chance of him cramping.
Overall, it looks like being a very high class entry, and a great first Cat 1 race of the year.
I am gutted that Brigadier’s sister Baroness Bullet ended her career in over the Golden Jacket course a couple of weeks ago.
She did a 23.14 split before breaking down with a broken stopper bone on the second circuit. I had her down as possibly even classier than her brother with the capability of reaching four Cat One finals this year. You can’t say she would win any of them, but she definitely had the ability to reach the latter stages.
It was even more irritating that like several of the other major injuries that we suffered last year, they were all in solo trials
I thought that last week’s awards night was one of the best ever. Despite all the doom and gloom in the industry, it was a terrific atmosphere.
Although I get the accolades, it is a staff effort. We took three tables and think everyone enjoyed themselves.
In terms of the 2019 trainers championship, I know we are really up against it this year. I look around the kennel, and at this stage at least, and we probably have three Cat One calibre dogs, and that just isn’t enough to make a challenge.
If the Gain Trainers Championship meeting was being run next week, instead of April, I honestly think we would be 20-1 outsiders.
We had a lot of turmoil last year with the closure of Towcester and my priority has been to get the kennel back on a solid business footing with the graders at Henlow. We currently have close to 50 dogs on the strength, and the graders pays the wages.
I think Kevin Hutton must have his strongest ever strength this year with possibly eight or ten ‘Cat One calibre’ greyhounds. Because of the way the points system works, they heavily influence the totals.
If you think about it, you can often pick up 25 points with a Cat One finalist without even winning the finals. Last year we had 17 runners in Cat One finalists.
I realise that a lot of people will think ‘it isn’t good to have one trainer dominate’, and I respect that view, though Charlie Lister, Seamus Cahill and Chris Allsopp have all finished top trainer since our first title.
But I can honestly say, I will enjoy the challenge and do my best to put pressure on whoever is leading the table. Probably 95% of our top open racers began life in graded racing and I hope we have a few young dogs who will step up to the mark.
Look out for a young bitch who is due to join us shortly. Her name is Antigua Coral and she is due to contest an unraced bitch stake at Newbridge.
