LIZ MORT, chair of the British Greyhound Breeders Forum, was delighted to be on hand to see Romeo Command be crowned BGBF Greyhound Stud Book champion for 2024 as Patrick Janssens’ star justified short-priced favouritism in the £3,000 final.

Taken ill at Doncaster at the recent BGBF British Bred St Leger, Mort was back at Towcester for the Category Two event to see the popular Romeo Command succeed last year’s champion Signet Goofy, who now lives in retirement with Mort, lift the title as his 1-5 SP always suggested he might.

Led from lid-rise by Keefill Rocky (Phil Milner), Romeo Command powered through at the third bend to score by one and three-quarter lengths from that rival and Trapstyle Bluey (Mattie Richards), clocking 28.94sec (normal) for the 500m trip.

Victory completed a heat and final unbeaten run through the Category Two decider and the Premier Greyhound Racing Eclipse at Nottingham will be the plan next for the Janssens-trained British-bred who was runner-up to Gaytime Nemo in the 2023 Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby.

“He’s a fantastic greyhound and a real credit to Patrick and his team and David and Nicola Firmager,” said Liz Mort. “David and Nicola were not just winning owners, of course, they were winning breeders and continue to set high standards. It was fantastic to see them at Towcester enjoying what was a Command performance!

“I would like to thank Towcester for staging the competition and to all the owners and trainers who entered runners. Towcester, especially, deserve real credit for the hospitality they showed to connections of the finalists on the day.

“I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Goofy, of course, but Romeo Command really is a star of the track and a worthy winner of the BGBF Greyhound Stud Book.

“I know Patrick is thinking about Nottingham for him. He won our British Breeders Stakes there last year and probably loves Nottingham as much as he does Towcester.”