UNION JACK is the March winner of the GWA/RPGTV Greyhound of the Month award.
The award, voted on by RPGTV viewers from a short-list of greyhounds decided upon by the Greyhound Writers’ Association, was won by the Jean Liles-trained, John Clarke and Peter Sandbach-owned runner after his Coral Golden Sprint triumph.
Union Jack (T1 above) raced five times during March, winning four times. Beaten into third by Roxholme Hat in the heats of the Golden Sprint, the local hope then won his semi-final before leading home a star-studded final to lift the £10,000 prize from Kilmore Lemon.
He racked up two other wins during the month, again back at Romford, posting a career-best 23.79sec for the 400m trip and has delighted his trainer, for whom he has been a star since her switch from Central Park to Romford at the turn of the year.
Liles said of the October 2015 son of Droopys Scolari and Ilikeyou: “Winning the Golden Sprint was fantastic and was certainly the icing on the cake for Union Jack, his owners Peter and John, and all of us here at the kennel.
“He managed to beat high-class fields in both the semis and final, and myself and Colin (Creighton, partner) were delighted with the way he ran through the competition. He gave the kennel a real boost, winning one of the biggest races there is.
Liles, who trains Union Jack from her Trapstyle Kennels in Hertfordshire, added: “We had a few issues with him and he was a regular visitor to George Drake, who also takes plenty of credit. He was spot-on for the final.”
For his part, Creighton added: “We always knew he was a nice sort when he came to us. He made the Texacloth Juvenile Derby Final at Newbridge in 2017, but always needed a few looks at a track – it was the same at Towcester and Central Park.
“He took to Romford really well and was certainly in the form of his life during March. It was great to win the Golden Sprint and Jean was speechless on the podium – she was overwhelmed!
“The kennel doesn’t get a great deal of media attention, so winning the Golden Sprint and Greyhound of the Month is a great boost for the kennel and the hard-working staff incuding kennelhands Jemma Webber, Katherine Carragher and Rhys Kuhn.”
Jonathan Hobbs, GWA chairman, said: “It was a great month for Union Jack and to win the Coral Golden Sprint was a terrific achievement given the quality against him, including Kilmore Lemon and Roxholme Hat in the final. Well done to all at Trapstyle Kennels!”