A SHORT WELSH STORY

When it comes to being involved in the sport from a grass root’s level upwards there are very few trainers more qualified to offer a view point than Perry Barr’s Lynn Short – writes Mark Pierrepont.

Though Lynn’s career as a licensed trainer goes back to just 2011, her history in the sport goes back over 50 years to 1969 when Lynn’s mother, Doreen Phillips, purchased the lease on Skewen greyhound track which lay 6 miles North East of the south Wales city of Swansea.

The family happily run Skewen track for many years but when the opportunity arose to purchase the lease on the nearby Swansea track in 1986, it was a chance they couldn’t turn down.

Lynn said: “It was extremely hard work, between the two tracks we were running 4 meetings a week. It was rewarding however, the sport was thriving and the tracks were very popular. Not just with locals either, you would have people travelling from all over the UK looking for races for their greyhounds.

“We run both venues successfully up until 1993 when sadly Skewen had to close. Within 18 months my mother Doreen sadly was diagnosed with cancer and her passing was a huge loss to all of the family.

“We continued to run Swansea successfully until 2009 when the local council who owned the land told us we must vacate the premises as they had plans to expand the nearby industrial units onto the site.

“It was a sad time for ourselves and the sport in the area really, as so often seems to be the case when much loved tracks closed, the plans for them never materialise and the tracks are needlessly left to sit empty and fall into a state of disrepair.

“For a while we didn’t really know what to do with ourselves, we’d kept a few dogs on and were running them at the independents but after being so heavily involved in the sport for so many years and after the loss of my mum we were all at a bit of a loose end.

“I decided to take the jump in 2011 and took out a license. Initially running dogs in opens around Coventry before gaining my first contract at Perry Barr.

“We made the move over to Hall Green and really enjoyed it there but after the closure of the track in 2017 we made our way back to Perry Barr. We’re happy here at Perry Barr, there’s a real family feel about the track and we’ve missed coming along with our dogs during the covid virus enforced lock down.

“We’ve 12 dogs in the kennel at the moment which take up most of our time but my son Robert who assists me has also been keeping himself busy by building a new block which will comfortably house another 10″.

 

Well known for their Castell prefix, Welsh for Castle, it was a pup named Henry who took their own profile to a higher level and set a young Nathan Hunt on the path to becoming the trainer he is today. Nathan said: “I owe Lynn and her family a lot, in fact if it wasn’t for them I’d not be involved in the sport.

“They’d take me everywhere with them, initially the flapping tracks such as Swansea, The Valley, Ellesmere Port and Westhoughton and then in later years we’d spend more time at tracks such as Reading, Oxford, Swindon, Coventry and of course Perry Barr where Lynn now trains.

“One of my favourite days racing came when we had two dogs in the final of the Ellesmere Port Derby. One of the dogs won the final and we had a great time afterwards staying behind in the bar where the karaoke was put to good use.

“It didn’t really happen for Tyrur Alice on the track over here but in Ireland she was a classy sort. Her first litter to Droopys Scolari did quite well and I bought a pup from the second litter to Kinloch Brae.

“Phil (Simmonds) bought 3 of the pups from the litter too and they were reared together. Henry was my pup from the litter and he obviously did really well, winning the Monmore Puppy Derby and both he and Bang On Giles gave us a great time including when the pair reached the Produce Stakes Final.

“This was early days in my relationship with Phil and set me on the path to where I am now just setting out on my own training career. I owe Lynn an awful lot and obviously in latter years Phil has been first class with me”.

 

Asked about those days travelling to the independent tracks around the UK Robert remembers a tale of a visit to Lancashire track Westhoughton: “Shortly before mum took out our license we headed north to Westhoughton, myself, mum and Nathan was coming along too.

“We had a real nice six bend dog at the time. When we finally arrived after a journey that took around 5 hours but seemed to take longer my mum comes heading back to the car from the track. ‘Come on we’re going home’ she said.

“All we could get out of her was that the track was like a 10p piece and we weren’t running. We took a look at the track and yes it was a tight venue but we believed the dog could handle it and thankfully in the end mum let the dog run.

“It was a good job really, as not only did he handle the track but he came out six in front and broke the track record in the process! We didn’t let her live it down on the way home and still remind her about it now”.

 

Going back to the Tyrur Alice litter Lynn said: “We were so pleased to see the pups from Alice do well, we’re really keen breeders and love seeing them develop from young babies into fully fledged racers and doing well. A good friend of mine Cath has a small holding nearby and she takes good care of the retired dogs whilst they’re waiting for a home and she’ll also take care of the pups.

“It’s a match made in heaven really and allows myself and Robert to concentrate on the racing side of the operation. We’re lucky to have been well supported for a good number of years now by Gerald Blackburn and Mark Gilbert who are hugely dedicated and passionate about the sport.

“They’ve been perfect owners and have provided huge support to us, both of them particularly love the open racing side of the sport so hopefully it’s not too long before we’re hearing some news from the GBGB on how the aim to bring that side of the game back.

“The graded side of the business is the bread and butter but if it wasn’t for the dream of owning a top class racer or two then you’d probably give up.

“We all need that dream. I think generally the GBGB have done a great job in bringing racing back, maybe with the exception that trainers could have been represented on the comeback working party however the whole team at Perry Barr led by racing manager Martin Seal have been superb.

“Everything has gone like clockwork during trials and though there is a strictness about the place it’s much needed especially at this time. It’s great to be back and hopefully it’s not too long before we can start drawing up some plans for our kennel star Good Champ. He’s a talented stayer and reached the final of the Doncaster St Leger last October”.

Robert said: “We’ve also got a really nice dog there named Castell Stevie, he recorded 16.01 in a 275m trial recently which is just 2 1/2 lengths off the longstanding track record held by Horseshoe Ping set back in 2004. You’d not believe he’s struggled in D2 company to date, if he could ever get it right in races he’d be some dog”.

 

Lynn was pleased to see the progress being made at Towcester and hopes to have a runner or two there in the not too distant future.

She said: “It’s a wonderful place and Kevin Boothby is doing a great job. When I look at the place it looks tailor made to stage some straight racing up the hill on the horse racing course.

“We were lucky enough win the competition staged at Cheltenham with our dog Shades Of Johnny in both 2003 and 2004 and he was unlucky not to pull off a memorable treble after a tardy exit from the boxes in the 2005 renewal.

“They’re great memories for us and it’s always something special to look back on. Events like that also capture the attention of a wider audience and put the sport in a good light. Hopefully we can see something like that at Towcester in the years ahead”.

Looking forward Lynn tells me the plan will be for Robert to take over the license and go head to head with his good friend Nathan “that’s in the future though, I’m not ready to hang my lead up just yet !”.