Ian is making his mark at Monmore

Langford, who has around 40 years of experience in the sport and previously served as a kennel hand to several successful trainers at Monmore, returned to the Wolverhampton track earlier this year having set out on his own at Towcester.

As the end of 2023 approaches, the Walsall-based handler is enthused by the recent performances of his dogs – with some promising pups also set to begin their racing journeys in the coming weeks.

“We’ve made a concerted effort to improve the quality as well as the quantity of dogs in the kennels, so we’re looking forward to seeing how all our new pups get on,” said Langford.

“We should have some more Open class greyhounds in the coming months.

“We’ve had a few graded winners recently, which is always nice. Having come back in July, it’s taken a bit of time to get the number of winners we would’ve liked, but things have started to settle in quite nicely.

“The dogs are running well and getting the victories they deserve.

“All my owners have been very supportive and embraced the change coming back to Monmore, so I’m thankful for their support and ready to step things up even further going into the new year.”

In the here and now, Langford has nine greyhounds in action tonight as Monmore hosts a full graded card.

And he is eager to see how Fridays Amazing and Drumdoit Jewel fare in race seven and 13 respectively.

“Fridays Amazing is coming down in grade to A4 and hopefully, he can get that first win under his belt,” added Langford.

“This will be his 10th race, and he just needs to make sure he gets around the first couple of bends to give himself a chance as he’s had some pretty good times despite being yet to win.

“Drumdoit Jewel is in the last race of the night and she’s been a delight, probably the best bitch I’ve had the joy to train. I’d take 10 of her if I could.

“She’s won Open races and been a fantastic performer, so if she can come out on top again that would be lovely.”