What do Calco Flyer, Domino Storm and Rail McCoy have in common? They have all won Category One events for Mark Wallis having started out in graded company.
On Friday night, Rail Mccoy, whose career began in A3 at Henlow produced another consistent performance to land the Coral Golden Sprint, taking the final in 24.13, following calculated heat and semi final wins in 24.11 and 24.10. All of this despite having only raced once since last September.
Trainer Mark Wallis said: “He originally picked up a sore shoulder and a slight toe problem. Then in his first race back, he damaged the opposite shoulder. We decided to give him a bit of extra time and then nearly ran out of time to get him ready for Romford.
“But he trialed back well at Monmore and although he wasn’t at his absolute best for the first round, he ran a cracker to win his heat, and then again to run second to Patrick’s dog (Crossfield Dusty) in the semi finals. Unfortunately he has picked up another toe injury in the final so will be off again.”
Of the trio mentioned earlier, Calco Flyer was bred by John Marriott out of the Ian Greaves bred Blonde Fern. Domino Storm and Rail Mccoy were both bred by Greaves in Kildare. Mark sees the graded start as not being coincidence.
He said: “The thing about Ian’s pups is that they arrive very green. Unlike a lot of Irish dogs that have had plenty of racing and schooling trials, Ian’s are still raw which gives us some scope to get them graded.
“How he assesses their ability when they are clearly so inexperienced I have no idea. But over the years he has sent us plenty of outstanding open races, Blonde Reagan, Hometown Honey and Top Power are just three more that immediately spring to mind.
“When Rail Mccoy qualified into A3 at Henlow, you knew he had some potential and although he might not be another Kinda Magic, Blonde Snapper or Clondoty Alex (all previous Golden Sprint winners for the kennel), we always knew he was decent enough because Henlow form always holds up. You break 27.50 with a young dog and you know they are a bit better than minor open class.
“We actually have quite a few of Ian’s pups in the kennel at the moment, all bought at working man’s prices, and I am looking forward to see how they develop.”
RAIL MCCOY (t4 left of pic) leads Crossfield Dusty (t3) early in the Coral Golden Sprint Final Photo: © Steve Nash
Mark Wallis (right) holds the Golden Sprint trophy as the Last Dance Syndicate celebrate Rail McCoy’s victory, with cheque presented by Stadium Manager Karen McMillan. Emily Wallis holds the winner. Photo: © Steve Nash
