Patience pays off for trainer Curtin
Patrick Curtin’s patience appears to have paid off as the long-serving Monmore Green trainer believes he has his ‘best kennel of dogs’ in almost a decade.
Curtin, who has been at Monmore since 2010, has enjoyed a healthy share of success in both the Open race scene and graded ranks over the last few months.
An impressive four-timer came this past Wednesday – Final Shot, Greenhill Ben, Ballymac Stryker and Sail On Jimmy all triumphant.
This evening gives Curtin the opportunity to keep up the momentum as he has four runners on the card, and he said: “I think this is potentially the best kennel of dogs I’ve had for six or seven years.
“There are loads of young raw pups, all well-bred, so we’re looking forward to a big future with those.
“We’ve got one or two dogs ticking away there on the Open scene and younger dogs who have already made the top grade at Monmore, so there’s a lot to look forward to.
“I’ve always liked to work with young, raw dogs and see if I can realise their potential.
Healthy
“I’ve seen a lot of changes in greyhound racing over the years but have managed to come through it – always with a full kennels and a healthy strength of dogs running at Monmore Green.
“So, it’s onwards and upwards. We keep going.”
Open racing is due to resume at Monmore next weekend while this summer, two Category One competitions will come to a head on the same night as the Gold Cup and Summer Stayers finals both take place on August 26.
Curtin, who had Olga recently reach the Premier Greyhound Racing Golden Jacket final at Crayford, already has half on eye on those.
“We’ve been quiet in recent years with the Open races, but Olga has been the flag-bearer for us this year,” added Curtin.
“We sent her out Open racing in January and she made the Golden Jacket final at Crayford.
“We’ve got others in the pipeline, too, who will be ready later this year. Hopefully, we’ll have a team of six of seven to go out Open racing with in the middle of the year.
“We’ll look at the Summer Stayers and maybe the Gold Cup as well here at Monmore if we can get some more established dogs over four bends.
“It’s going to be a busier year for us as we’re trying to maintain a healthy strength in the top grades at Monmore at the same time. We’re looking to cover all bases.”
