It's Clarkey v McNab in Tipping Challenge

With the home team reeling in the Thursday night Monmore tipping challenge I've had Gary looking in the form book all day to find a few winners. Gary will be taking on Tom McNab aka Trigger who owns Ballymac Clara.

Gary's Selections

8.26 Shiners Princess 5th -£10.00
8.42 Smart Bid 1st Evens +£10.00
8.58 Ballymac Colin 3rd -£10.00
9.48 Rock on Vera 2nd -£10.00

Tom's Selections

7.39 Moyar Joy 2nd -£10.00
8.42 Nefan 2nd -£10.00
8.58 Karaoke Carly 5th -£10.00
9.15 Joscar 2nd -£10.00

Good Luck boys ! ! Loser is on the tea's and coffees for a month !

Shocking draw costs home team in Coventry Final

As soon as the draw had been made for the £1,000 Rodney Magnet Puppy Final at Coventry we knew our two representatives would be up against it and so it proved. Fifis Flyer headed in from trap 1 whilst Tonetta Bound did the same from causing mayhem on the run to the corner.

Despite being a significant number of lengths down Fifis Legend chased leader Darian Star very hard and got within two lengths to be denied in 29.62. 

Earlier in the evening the pictured Sids Ninja showed his class in Heat 2 of the 450 Stake when showing some awesome pace to win by 3 1/4 lengths in 27.28. 

Major scores on Bank Holiday

Bawna Major proved to be our only Bank Holiday winner on Monday in front of another packed crowd at Monmore.

Kennel mate Lynns Blackie set the early pace but the challengers were always ready to unleash runs behind the long time leader. Major was making progress but was checked up on the third bend and it took him a few strides to get back into his stride. This however didn't stop him forcing himself in front in the shadow of the line to take the A3 in 28.93. 

Flames shines at Coventry as Ninja has near miss

Coventry hosted a superb evening of racing on Sunday in which we supported as always.

Express Flame (pictured) got us up and running by taking the Division A Bitches race in 29.45. Flame passed long time leader Russelena Barbie to the home straight to take the race by a hard fought short head to claim the £250 first prize. 

Sids Ninja ran an absolute stormer in the £1,000 Puppy Final to finish a 2 1/2 length second to potential superstar Calzaghe Jack. Ninja's time of 27.33 shows how great a run it was. 

Cracker makes it five

Ballymac Cracker continued her rise up the grades at Monmore last night when recording her 5th career win in the A5. Cracker was quickly into stride from her trap 6 position and once rounding the first corner in front there was no stopping her as she went on to win by 1 1/4 lengths in 28.96. 

Five Alley Queen showed what a start she will be as she stayed on very strongly to finish second in the A2 in 28.57. 

Mags and Dasya fly to Friday wins

Head Iton Mags recorded her 11th career win with a typical hard fought win today when taking the afternoons S4 in 39.45. This well bred bitch has now ran 82 races and never fails to try her best.

Shades of Dasya was on the mark for the second time this year when putting in a brave performance in the A4 to win by 3/4 length in 28.79. 

Roly romps to tipping success

Roly Woodcock gave the owners a 2 week lead in the Staff v Owners Challenge as he swept aside poor Tom with three winners.

Roly tipped up  7.39 Smart Bid 1st 5/4 , 7.54 Swan Storm 5th 5/2 , 8.58 Bansha Mo 1st 5/4 , 9.15 Butts Mott 1st 4/7 

I think we all have to acknowledge the kennels best tipster !

Treble Thursday for Westview Team

A superb night of racing took place at Monmore on Thursday evening which included three great winners from Westview Kennels.

Smart Bid got us up and running with an all the way victory in the opening heat of the Ladbrokes.com 480, winning by 2 1/4 lengths in 28.46. I hope his loyal group of syndicate owners all backed him.

Lightning Sky took advantage of a drop down to A2 with an impressive win using some great all round pace to win by 1 3/4 lengths in 28.65. 

Our final winner came in the very last race when Blue Ninja (pictured) pinged from the traps to cause a real upset in the A1 at the rewarding odds of 7/1. The winning time was a pleasing 28.57. 

Five Alley Queen SOLD !!!!!!

Loyal owner Mick White has snapped up the remaining 50% share in Five Alley Queen. This promising bitch really caught the eye at trials on Tuesday. I'd like to thank Mick and wish him all the very best of luck in his new partnership.

Flying night at Coventry

Coventry keep attracting good quality to their track with a range of competitions to attract all trainers.

Last night the Rodney Magnet 1970 Trophy started last night with three competitive heats. Tonetta Bound was very well supported to go off 4/6 favourite to makes amends from his debut run. Punters didn't have to many worries though as Bound lead all the way to win by a length in 29.65. 

Joining Tonetta Flyer in the Final will be Fifis Flyer who overcame first bend traffic problems to win smoothy by three lengths in 29.56. 

Dean and Peter step in to clinch shares in future stars

Dean Martin has joined Paul Oliver in snapping a sale of Irish import Laoises First today. This leaves just one share available at £5,000. If you are thinking about it then don't hold back as the share will be sold very soon.

Peter Symonds has also been in the transfer market by securing a 1/2 share of the nice bitch pup Five Alley Queen. If you fancy the other 50% share then please call me as its available at £1,500.

Stars of future shine at Trials

A number of our new recruits put in some pleasing runs in today's trials session at Monmore today.

Firstly I'd like to welcome Keith Warner to the kennel who is proud owner of Express Master who recorded a very good 15.69.

Loyal owners Roly Woodcock had some good news as his Felix Dahousecat looked classy recording 15.61.  Whilst Express Giant owned by Mick Giles, Will Adamson and Chris Cooper set the tongues wagging when posting 15.43.

Five Alley Queen looks to be a nice stayer in the making when posting 28.77. The October 2011 bitch could well be a real bargain at £3,000.

Paul Oliver was quickest out of the traps to but a 1/3 share in Irish super pup Laoises First. This leaves two shares remaining at £5,000 in this special puppy.

Tom v Roly in Tipster Challenge

I've made a late tactical switch in the Staff v Owners Tipping Challenge. Tom will step in to take on Roly Woodcock.

Both will post four selections from Thursday evenings card at Monmore.  After a poor performance from Yorkie last week I'm hoping Tom had pull us back level. 

Good Luck boys..........Please post selections on the Facebook page.

Notts Maiden win for Kirk Superstar

Kirk Superstar broke his open race duck last night by taking Heat 3 of the Grolsh Sprint Trophy at Nottingham. He was always in front rank most of the way however forced his way clear off the bend to win by 1/2 length in 18.01. 

5 out of 7 pups of this litter were reared here at Westview have now won open races. Strategic Review, Sids Ninja, Blue Ninja, Mosca Flyer and now Kirk..........what a great litter.

One of the fastest young pups in Ireland this year joins Westview for sale

Down through the years Galway track has been the launching pad for many major open class racers and category one event greyhounds the likes of Skywalker Ace, Burnpark Champ, Skate on yo name just a couple/

Last Thursday night a new superstar burst onto the Irish racing scene. Only an October 2011 puppy, Laoises First left racegoers gobsmacked with his massive all round pace.

Racing in a £2,000 competition he rocketed from traps to record a 3.26 sectional, simply in a different league,  he raced clear of his all age race winning opponents showing massive backstraight pace to pull 8 lengths clear by the 3rd bend. He then flew home to win by 10 3/4 lengths in a quite brilliant time of 28.74 which was easily the fastest time of the night.

                               ****1st in 28.74 525 yards race Galway*****

Yes, a truly magical run from this classic class puppy. The next best time of the night was 29.06 by 'High flying lady' who had recorded 28.70 in a trial at Newbridge. So this pups time was .32 spots faster.

Another runner the same night was 'Future Joe' who was bought for a substantial amount unraced. He won from trap to line in 29.16 (.42 spots slower than this pup).  'Future Joe' is a 1/2 brother to 'Future Boy' who was voted Irish greyhound of the year (Stayer) and sold for £60,000.

Please note the track was 'dug up' on Wednesday  by ground staff and it would have been running on the 'slower' side. If this pup had been racing on Saturday nights card he would easily have done a 28.50 run. 3 consecutive nights racing makes the track that bit faster at weekend.

Some of the superstars in the greyhound game have raced at Galway, the likes of 'Skywalker Ace' (28.72 at Galway - sold for £50,000), our very own great 'Burnpark Champ' 28.88 Galway 27.96 Monmore sold for £18,000, 'Skate on' - 29.40 Galway.

Make no mistake Galway form stands up against the best. Galway track would be rated at least .30 spots behind the likes of Shelbourne or Limerick and Tralee. For example 'Uutofthesky' - 28.96 Galway - (27th April) recorded 28.59 at Shelbourne last Saturday night.

Not surprising this pup with his winning time has become very hot property. He was advertised on Greyhound Data and the owner fielded several phone calls while our contact in Ireland acted fast to secure him. We have negotiated a £5,000 reduction in the asking price.

With his all round pace this young pup will be aimed at all the major category one events in the NGRC racing calendar including the likes of the £10,000 Puppy Classic at Notts in August as well as the £25,000 Irish Puppy Derby at Harolds cross.

Please phone me direct to for more information about this superstar puppy. This lad will sell quickly so if interested please call immediately.

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Sooty and Getta record Saturday wins

Two winners for the team last night at Monmore, the last two meetings we were just missing the target so it was good to see normal service resumed. Start itup Sooty (top photo) recorded his first win since October when staying on very strongly to take the opening A4 by three lengths in 28.95.  I hope the grader is just not to harsh on the dog for just one win.

Our second win came care of Goa Getta (lower photo)who put in a stunning display of all round pace to go away from a competitive A2 field to win by 3 1/2 lengths in 29.02. 

Flutter flies the flag

Newinn Flutter was our only winner over the Thursday and Friday meetings at Monmore. Flutter recorded his 6th career win of his career when taking the A6. Flutter overcame early race crowding and then hold a strong position throughout the race. Flutter needed to dig deep in the shadow of the line to win by the shortest of short heads in 29.42. 

No luck for Dixies in Coventry Final

Sadly no luck for the team at Coventry last night which included Dixies Craft in the Bitches Final. A slow start ended any chance of winning the event as she finished 5th behind Russelena Barbie. This photo from Dave Yanez shows what Steve thought of the race !

Yorkie v Taylor in Round 4 of Tipping Challenge

With the score standing at 1-1 in the Staff v Owners Challenge our boy Yorkie steps forward tomorrow to take on loyal owner Mick Taylor.

Yorkie is out to prove a point after an owner say he couldn't tip a tea pot !!

Rules are simple - 1 staff member and 1 owner will go head to head by picking 4 selections at a selected Monmore meeting. The person who declares the most profit to a £10 level stake on each dog will be declared the weekly winner.(A non runner will cost a zero)

Yorkie

7.25 Eden Rock - Non-Runner -£10.00
8.36 Afewdollarsmore  Unplaced -£10.00
8.40 Blue Artisan  Unplaced -£10.00
9.30 Butts Mott 1st 6/4 - +£15.00

Mick Taylor

8.10 Klockwork Korker 1st Evens +£10.00

9.32  Butts Mott  1st +15.00

10.03 Ardera Flame 3rd -£10.00

20.18 Farloe Mysterio 1st + 17.50

Boys on fire at Monmore

Another double for our home team at Monmore today. Start Itup Sweep got a deserved win in an A2 when blasting away from traps to lead all the way in a tough looking race to win by 3 1/4 lengths in 28.78. 

Our second winner came care of improving pup Sids Ninja (pictured). Sids Ninja took the second A2 of the day with another all way victory and in doing so showing some great back straight pace. Ninja winning by 1 1/2 lengths in 29.09.

Major makes everyone pay attention

Saturday evenings card looked very competitive on paper so it was great to head home with two winners in the van.

Sophies Boyo recorded his maiden win when leading all the way in the A6 to win by 1/2 length in 29.27. This will hopefully the first of many wins for this April 2011 dog.

Bawna Major has been a model of consistency throughout his 62 race career and he showed he was no back number as he stepped up in grade to A2 to win by a huge 6 1/2 lengths in 28.65.

Off to a Flyer

I never under value the money my owners invest in nice pups for me to train. Another one that fits that bracket is Fifis Flyer owned by Thomas Kelly. 

The April 2011 dog by Hades Rocket x Clydagh Premier is a dog with a big future. After getting no sort of run on his debut in open race company he showed his genuine potential with a brilliant win in last nights A1. Pinging from traps and then showing some serious pace to win by 2 1/2 lengths in 28.42. 

Honours even as both sides draw a blank

Well Well Well, Big Steve and Susie played out a dull 0-0 in last nights tipping challenge to leave the competition at 1-1. I will be sitting down with Steve over the weekend to review what went wrong ! If you are interested in representing the owners please just leave a comment on the Facebook page.

Dixies Craft wins and takes Coventry Track Record

Coventry are putting on some great competitions at the moment and its so good for all the team and owners its only a short drive from kennels.

Last night a Bitches competition started over 450 metres. The three heat competition attracted some good quality entries. We were out of luck in Heat 1 where Westmead Athena could only finish 4th to Nadurra Bonn. However in Heat 2 our very own Dixies Craft put in a display of perfection to take the race by the scruff of its neck in a matter of strides and then to go on to win 3/4 length in 27.11. The winning time was a new Track Record which highlight how great the bitch ran. Express Flame finished back in third after missing the early kick.

Big Steve ready to put staff ahead in tipping challenge

The score stands at 1-1 in the Staff v Owners Challenge after Paul did the business last week.

This Thursday Steve will take on Susie Loxton. Susie is wife of loyal owner Nigel who owns Who Thought It, Phsyco Wayne and shares of Phoenix Bolt.

Rules are simple - 1 staff member and 1 owner will go head to head by picking 4 selections at a selected Monmore meeting. The person who declares the most profit to a £10 level stake on each dog will be declared the weekly winner.(A non runner will cost a zero)

Susie

8.42 Butts Mott - 2nd
9.15 Klockwork Kackapo - 3rd
9.48 Mordred Saul - Unplaced
10.03 Nefan - 2nd 

Steve

7.54 Farloe Rihanna - 2nd 
8.42 Lightning Sky - Unplaced
8.58 Shinto - 2nd
10.18 Start Itup Sweep -3rd

A cracker of a Bank Holiday

Once again our home track of Monmore was packed to capacity for another of their great family fun days as everyone enjoyed a warmest day of year and a feast of racing.

Ballymac Cracker took the £500 Owners Series A5 final with a game front running performance to win by head in 29.10. Cracker has been a model of consistency in career to date and is a real pleasure to train.

Earlier on in the afternoon Farloe Rihanna recorded her first win since February when taking advantage of the drop in grade to A8 to win in 29.20. The ultra game Farloe thekid made it 3 wins on his career record when taking the afternoons A4 in 29.15. Kid looked beat with strides to go but he got back up in front on the line to win by a short head.

Hiking a winner at Coventry

Borna Hiker recorded his first win for us yesterday at Coventry when taking the Roving Minstrel Maiden Division 4. Hiker was actually very slow away from traps but forced his way through on the inner and then kick clear to win by 1 1/4 lengths in 29.73.

It's easy as 1 2 3 for Aphrodites

Our super staying bitch Aphrodites Touch made it a memorable hatrick at Monmore last night when taking the Ladbrokes.com 630. Touch broke well from traps and never saw a dog in the 630 metre race except the final few strides when she needed to dig need to hold off the strong running Malcair Marco by 1/2 length in 38.38.

Kinloch Tiger made it an open race double when he blitzed to an early pace win in the Ladbrokes.com 480, winning in 28.47 by 3 1/2 lengths.

Earlier in the evening Shades of Zeta (pictured) bounced back to form with a superb run in the A2. Zeta burst clear as soon the traps opened and showed some great all round pace to win by a length in 29.02. 

At the double

A pleasing double for us this afternoon at Monmore. The ultra game Head Iton Mags recorded her 9th career win when she took the S5 when staying on best to win by one length in 39.92. 

Its always great to report new dogs in the kennel winning and it was pleasing to report the first win of Jeffrys Scholar. Jeffrys lead all the way in todays A4 after taking advantage of the drop in grade to win to win by 1/2 length in 29.03. 

Rico goes for a Kentucky

Afan Rico rewarded his owners with a great win in the Old Kentucky Puppy Prize Final at Coventry last night at the rewarding odds of 12/1 and take the £1,000 prize.

Rico was quickly into front and was clear of the first bend trouble which held up the favourite and also kennel mates Blue Ninja, Sids Ninja and Rathanny Ruth. Rico showed some great back straight on pace and then had to fight off the last challenge of Aines Marx to win by a head in 27.26. 

Boys ready for Round 2 of the Staff Challenge

Here we go in Round 2 of the Staff v Owners Challenge. Rules are simple - 1 staff member and 1 owner will go head to head by picking 4 selections at a selected Monmore meeting. The person who declares the most profit to a £10 level stake on each dog will be declared the weekly winner.(A non runner will cost a zero)

Owners took honours in week one with Rich Wood doing the business.

Paul                                                   Mike

8.10 Who Thought It     1st 6/4 (+£15.00)    8.42 Eden Zidane  2nd (-£10.00)
8.26pm Saint Katy   Unplaced (-£10.00)      9.15  Ardera Gino 2nd (-£10.00)
9.32 Ballymac Cracker Unplaced (-£10.00)  9.45 Vedfield Solid Unplaced (-£10.00)
10.03 Final McCoy  2nd (-£10.00)              10.18 Lady Sadie 2nd(-£10.00)

                 Paul takes the honours and makes it 1-1    

Don't forget you can watch all the action on Racing Post Greyhound TV either on the web or on Sky channel 212.