Hat-trick of winners for Monmore trainer Gary Griffiths

The momentous occasion arrived this past Monday with Signet Tigerlily, Signet Parker and Signet Marshall winning at A10, A7 and A5 respectively.

The trio only turned two last month and Griffiths is excited over what they could achieve in the months to come.

“They were bred by (former Monmore trainer) Kevin Hutton,” said Griffiths. “He took his time with them; they were bottle-fed for a good while and he joint owns them so keeps a close eye on their progress.

“They’ve only just gone two – Tigerlily has just come out of season, and she’s only had a few races back.

“Marshall did the quickest time of the day and Parker went very well in his race, too.

“They’re winning races already and should only get better as the months progress, fingers crossed.

“It’s rare to have a few winners on the same day all from the same litter, so we’re really pleased.

“Things have been going well as a whole for us as a kennel recently.”

Griffiths, who travels from Lancashire to Monmore, currently has one of the best win percentages of the track’s trainers for graded races – boasting an 18.72 per cent strike rate (117 winners from 625 runners in 2024).

Assessing the year, Griffiths added: “We’ve done alright. We had a slow start, but it’s been going well over the past few months. We’ve had a good run throughout October and November.

“It’s a two-hour journey from Wigan and we only race three days a week at Monmore, but we’ve got 23 greyhounds in the kennel and have been enjoying things.

“I’m pretty strict on the physio side of things and anything that flares up, we’re treating with ultrasound and lasers.

“Bengarth Blaise is the shining example of that, he’s five now and still looking as strong as ever for owner Dave Wilding who always comes to the track to watch him race. Smurfs Explosion has been the same.

“We’d like to get back entering some Opens next year if we can. We’re just a little short of top-end dogs in the kennel at the minute, but we’ve got an exciting pup called Dizzy Lizzie – she’s just had a couple of sprints back from season and we’re excited to see how she goes.

“Hopefully, we can attract a few more top-end graders and Open class racers into the kennel soon, but all things considered, we’re enjoying it.”

Tonight’s card at Monmore includes two Open races – one over 480m and the other a 264m sprint.Vixons Filofax – fresh from winning the track’s Dog of the Month award for October – competes in the 480m race for Brian Thompson. Craig Marston’s Whisky Bella looks to follow up a fine Open victory at Monmore earlier this month in the sprint.