Monmore Green trainer Marston hits road in quest for glory

Marston, Monmore’s champion trainer for 2022 and based out of Sedgley, continues to contribute many graded runners at the Wolverhampton track.

But he is also keen to make further strides on the Open circuit, having had 13 victories so far this year – Ringabella Boy being triumphant at Nottingham this past Monday and a potential star for the kennel in the coming months.

“We’re expanding and will continue to expand. We’ve had 13 Open wins this year, and last year we had 12 while breaking a track record at Swindon with Elite Dan,” said Marston. “We’ve got a healthy team of about eight Open class dogs we can take out, and it’s nice to go up against some of the top trainers in the country and be competitive – and beat them on the odd occasion.

“Ringabella Boy is probably our big flag-bearer for this year. He’s just turned three and is in the prime of his life.

“He won on his UK debut around Nottingham, and we have a couple more who have come into the kennel.

“Ranches Chancer we purchased from (fellow Monmore trainer) Kim Billingham’s range, and he was unfortunate to get narrowly beaten at Nottingham last week in a sprint Open.

“Whisky River has come in as an Open sprinter as well and been good for the kennel. Belles Good and Droopys Hue both have Open wins on their card as well – and the latter only cost us £350.

“We’re hoping they will continue to build up because it would be nice to have a little team of sprinters and four-bend dogs for the Opens. It’s a nice to get those Open wins, so we’ll continue travelling for different competitions. We’ll keep looking at the calendar, seeing where we need to be, and build on that early success.”

Marston is due to have several runners at Monmore tonight including Crackaway Oxo in an A2 race and Feora Castle in a D1 sprint.

He also hopes British-bred bitch Mrs Chuckle can continue making positive strides ahead of the prestigious Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic at Monmore, which begins in August and will see £10,000 awarded to the winner.

“We should have a shout for the Summer Stayers,” added Marston. “We’ll hit a few British-bred competitions this year with Mrs Chuckle. She was only born in Shrewsbury, so she’s a very local girl and stands at 34kg, which is quite big for a bitch.

“She’s come to us and been breaking out of the traps lovely and has early pace, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”