Patience pays off for Monmore trainer Griffiths
Monmore trainer Gary Griffiths is delighted to have seen thorough care and patience pay off as Jayne Louise looks for her fifth win in succession.
Comfortable over both two and four bends, Jayne Louise competes in an A4 tonight having also won a sprint Open last weekend.
Her success of late is testament to the measures taken by Griffiths including physio, thermal cameras and ultrasound therapy.
“At the beginning, she was looking like a short runner, and she wasn’t taking the bends right. She was almost ending up on the grass, so we knew something wasn’t quite right,” explained Griffiths.
“It turned out she had a tear in her shoulder. Through the thermal imaging scanner we use with the physio that visits the kennel every month, we found the tear.
“She then had ultrasound and six to eight weeks rest, so we brought her back gently and now she’s won her last four races on the bounce.
“She’s gone from an A8 dog into an Open race winner, and we’re delighted with her.
“We’ve spent the time to identify the issue, treat it and now the rewards are there.
“That’s what training greyhounds is all about.
“We’ve got 20 greyhounds in the kennel, so we can afford to take our time with these things and go into the detail we do. Every dog the day after a race, I will check them over thoroughly to make sure they’re right.
“I’ve spent half of my life training greyhounds now and if you’ve got a sound, happy and fit dog, the rest of it will fall into place.”
The success stories reach beyond that of Jayne Louise as well. Ruinthelonggame, Bengarth Blaise, Links Baby and Greige Oak Boy have all benefited from similar treatment.
“We’ve got a lot of young dogs coming through. Ruinthelonggame is already at A2. Again, we identified a small issue with him and rectified that and he’s going from strength to strength,” said Griffiths.
“Links Baby. She’s gone from clocking 30.50 to 29.50 in five races through identifying a hip problem.
“Bengarth Blaise is still going strong and just won his 150th race. Greige Oak Boy is another still running and doing well thanks to the work we’re able to do, identifying issues and making them right. It’s a big part of it.”
Jayne Louise runs from trap five at 8.13pm this evening with the aim of making it a rarely-achieved five wins in a row.
She steps up to A4 after victories at A8, A7 and A6 before last week’s sprint success and Griffiths insists early pace is the key for her.
“A 4.23 sectional at Monmore isn’t seen very often and she’s done that,” said Griffiths. “Her strike rate is fantastic as well. She’s won seven out of 21 races now.
“She’ll rely on a big lead as she doesn’t finish as strong as others, but up to 400m, she’s probably one of the fastest dogs at the track.
“Hopefully, she can get a lead and hold on. She’s on a track that plays to her strengths but as you go further up the grades, you need to get out and make sure you’re leading so we’ll see how she goes.”
