MICKYS BARRETT, trained by Jason Gray for the Micky Barrett Syndicate, was recently named the RPGTV/GWA Greyhound of the Month for December after winning the Premier Greyhound Racing All England Cup at Newcastle.

In landing the award voted for by members of the Greyhound Writers’ Association, Mickys Barrett saw off the challenge from other major winners in the month which were Chelms Cub (Jason Heath), Clongeel Ozzie (Jason Heath), Fabulous Azurra (Patrick Janssens), Fromposttopillar (Liz McNair), Gougane Jet (Mark Wallis) and Slick Sakina (Patrick Janssens).

A March 2020 son of Out Of Range ASB and The Other Tessa, Mickys Barrett was soon in pole position in the £20,000 showpiece final at the north-east venue and grabbed GBGB Category One gold to add to his third place at Towcester in last year’s Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby behind Classic winner Romeo Magico and Kildare (now Mr Chelm).

Clive Lawrence, executive producer at award sponsors RPGTV, said: “It was a very strong month for nominations with a host of big-race winners, but clearly Mickys Barrett’s performances at Newcastle caught the imagination.

“We all bought into the Mickys Barrett story during last year’s Derby. The dog being named in memory of one of the syndicate’s great friends – and then the cheering on the terraces at Towcester when he raced – was one of the abiding memories of last year’s Derby. RPGTV viewers enjoyed following Mickys Barrett and hearing from connections before and after his races. It was a story also picked up by the wider media, which was great.”

Ian Walton, Newcastle general manager, added his own tribute given Mickys Barrett had, in addition to winning the PGR All England Cup at Newcastle, also made the finals of two other major competitions at the Byker venue in the form of the Arena Racing Company Northern Puppy Derby (behind Freedom Alibi) and the Arc Northern Flat in March, where he finished second to Jaguar Macie.

He said: “The award is absolutely deserved and I know racegoers here will be delighted. I still maintain his All England Cup semi-final victory over Swift Iconic was one of the races of the year – they had a brilliant head-to-head. It’s performances like that which have made him one of the most popular open racers in training.”