“I honestly think that his could and should be the best English Derby in many, many years. It is a perfect opportunity to show off greyhound racing at its best” The thoughts of assistant trainer Rab NcNair – writes Floyd Amphlett.
After a fabulous Sunday at Towcester, Rab McNair reckoned he had seen the future of greyhound racing.
He said: “It was just fabulous. The sun was out, you could see the dogs on parade feeling good about themselves, which is why the times were so good. Some people said the track was too fast. Rubbish! And there was a fabulous atmoshere; I was reminded of how good greyhound racing can be.
“Looking at Kevin Boothby at the weekend, he was like a kid waiting for Christmas. When you think of what they made of the Derby last year, when we weren’t even sure that crowds would be allowed in until about a month before the final, I thought they made the final something special. The atmosphere on the day, the music, the racing, everything. My grandkids were there and absolutely loved it.
“But I want to see them take it up several more levels. For example, I was looking at the parades on Sunday and I couldn’t help thinking that some of it looked tatty. Those green parading coats are going to get very hot as the weather warms up and I think the paraders should be smart, black trousers and shoes and white T-shirts. Many thousands of people are watching this racing, it is our shop window. And yes, that means McNair too. No white T-shirt and black trousers, ‘here is your entry fee back, now F*** off.‘”
So how does the circuit and venue stack up as the ultimate Derby venue?
Rab said: “I always loved Wimbledon, not such a big fan of Nottingham, at least for the Derby dogs. Towcester is a great track in my opinion, with no favouring of rails, middles or wides. Personally though, I would have put the traps back another 20 metres and had a 520m Derby. Even as it is, it is very tough, you need to get every metre from off the last bend and there is a long run to the pick-up.
“Dogs can run the track well without a trial, but like everywhere else, you would still expect them to improve as they get to know a track and become more confident.”
Is there a better Derby course in the country?
“I don’t know about better, but I would say that the Central Park 500 metres would give it a run for its money. But that isn’t a criticism of Towcester, I just think the Central Park 500 is a fabulous distance for greyhounds. As for a venue, there is nowhere even close for a comparison. I might want things to keep improving at Towcester but that doesn’t mean I am criticising, I absolutely love the place.
“Imagine 6,000-7,000 people there on final night, what an occasion that would be!”
The entire McNair Derby Derby team were present at Towcester on Sunday, and half of them won!
Warzone Tom (29.04) was only five spots slower than new track record holder Sporting Chile. Puppy Havana Lover won in 29.25, Havana Robusto was second and Havana Bale Out was third.
Rab said: “That is them done now until the start of the Derby. I was particularly impressed with Lover because she’s had an abscess from a bad tooth earlier in the week and made a fabulous recovery. She is a phenomenal bitch, and like Robusto is running in the Derby for experience with the Puppy Derby in mind afterwards. Bale Out has had her own issues and I am not disappointed with her in any way. The plan is for both Bale Out and Tom to go for the ‘Three Steps’ at Sheffield”
Havana Class is currently contesting the Guys And Dolls but will miss the Derby, in the hope and expectation of a run in the Pall Mall at Oxford later in the year. The kennel’s rising star Feora Noel is on the injured list after picking up a stress fracture at Perry Barr; however the long term prognosis is good.
However there are some unexposed youngsters coming through.
Rab said: “There are a couple of January ’21 littermates from Drew (Richards), Havana Playboy and Havana Cougar. They’ve had the cough which put them back but Playboy has already had his first trials at Central Park. But there is also another youngster who really impresses me, Shrewd Sydney. He is a December ’20 pup and a half brother to Shrewd Call. He did 27.77 for the 450 metres off a 1.01 sectional (the same as Sunday’s open winner), and that was after swerving across the traps at the start and lost at least two lengths. This is a very fast greyhound!”
After a barren spell in the breeding paddocks, the leading home bred kennel of the last decade are ready to present some new pups to the track. There are five Jan ’21 pups by King Sheeran out of Queen Danni and they have gone through a typical rollercoaster facing any litter.
Rab said: “I sent them off to Dave Pruhs for schooling. I warned Dave that one of the bitches was unlikely to make it. Although she chased, her heart wasn’t really in it. I was going to get her re-homed but Dave said that his lassie would like her as a pet. I wound him up by saying that she could have her, I just didn’t want to see that the next time I heard of her she would be 1-4f to win the TV trophy or something.
“One of the dogs was going really well but hurt his knee. I was gutted because I really like him. The Nottingham vet has put a couple of pins in his leg and we’ll see how he is in about four months time. Also one of the bitches damaged some metatarsals, which is quite common with pups. She’ll be off for a couple of months. Finally, there is a dog and a bitch who David reckons could be very good, probably as fast as we’ve ever sent him. I’ve seen the videos and like what I see, so we will be qualifying them shortly.”
Next up are a litter of six dogs and a bitch by Hiya Butt out of Queen Anna.
Rab said: “They are only 11 months old and are coming into the kennel. I like to get them settled down and lead trained before they go schooling. I don’t know what to say about his lot, they are absolute animals! They all look like patchwork quilts where they’ve taken lumps out of each other. There are bits missing, they really are something else. I guarantee, every single one of this lot will chase.”
