Shaw ready to step out on his own after learning from one of Monmore's best
Michael Shaw is excited to be making the ‘big leap’ and stepping out on his own after gaining invaluable knowledge from one of Monmore’s longest-serving trainers.
Shaw has spent much of his life working with greyhounds being as he is the nephew of highly respected handler Patricia Cowdrill.
He insists Patricia and the Elderberry Racing team have ‘taught him everything’ as he now looks to carve out a successful path as a trainer in his own right from his new Walsall base.
“My aunty has taught me everything and I just love working with the dogs, it’s what I’ve always known,” said Shaw.
“It’s been a massive part of my life for pretty much my whole life. I’ve been helping wherever I can since I was a kid at the kennels.
“I love Pat, she’s my aunty, and now I’m excited to take on the opportunity of becoming a trainer myself.
“It’s a very exciting time, a big leap, but one that I think I’m ready for now and can’t wait to get stuck into.”
Shaw, while working as a kennel hand, has owned greyhounds with both Cowdrill and fellow Monmore trainer Alan Jenkins, with those now being trained by him.
Hollywell Cookie, Swift Jess, Swift Nat and Swift Underdog all went well in 264m solo trials on Wednesday, with Hollywell Cookie in particular putting in an impressive time of 15.49secs.
Shaw is likely to have his first runners on the card next week and will soon be followed by another new Monmore trainer in David Page, who is similarly stepping out on his own having served as an assistant to Gary Griffiths.
“Hollywell Cookie put in a cracking trial time – bless her she’s a cracking bitch and always pings the lids,” added Shaw.
“We’ve got five pups that are being marked up as well. They’ll have trials and then hopefully be on the card within a few weeks.
“We just want to get the graded strength going, have them running well and hopefully bring a few Open-class greyhounds into the fold as we go.
“Again, I’m very excited. When I saw my name next to the greyhounds on the trial sheets, it was a nice feeling, so it’ll be great to see my name in the race card soon.”
Tonight at Monmore there are six Open races including a Category Three 480 Maiden final. Longacres Daddy (Pat Doocey) was quickest in last week’s heats (clocking 28.48 on normal going) and goes from trap four in the final at 8.31pm.
