Mongys Wild targeting a Monmore double in the Golden Jacket
The magnificent Mongys Wild could become the Golden Jacket champion for the second year running on a huge night of racing at Monmore Green.
Perhaps one of the greatest stayers greyhound racing has ever seen, Mongys Wild (trained by Mark Wallis and owned by the MWD Partnership) broke Monmore’s 684m record twice on the way to clinching the crown in 2025 and is widely expected to triumph in this evening’s £20,000 showpiece.
Breath-taking victories over recent weeks in both the first-round heats and semi-finals – seemingly placing himself further down the pack before expertly picking his time to fly through the tiring traffic – mean he is the 4/7 favourite to take the spoils.
Droopys Flare (Sean Parker, Sheffield) and Mongys Wild’s fellow Imprerial Kennels star Vhagar are at 11/4 and 4/1 respectively.
The Golden Jacket is one of two Category One finals at Monmore tonight, with the 480m Winter Derby a more open affair according to the bookmakers.
Last year’s runner-up Gary The Arb (Belinda Gren, Hove) and the super-consistent Droopys Aladdin (Michael Burton) are both at 5/2. Bruce Bay (Wallis) was the fastest semi-final winner and is at 7/2 to take the £10,000 prize alongside Texas Jack (Richard Rees, Hove).
Bouncing Monarch (David Fradgley, Kinsley) and Toddys Wolf (Tom Heilbron, Newcastle) then complete the field at 8/1 and 12/1 respectively.
Monmore racing manager Tony Williamson said: “Both competitions have been thoroughly enjoyable over the past couple of weeks.
“Mongys Wild has been nothing short of incredible in defence of his Golden Jacket title, but all the finalists are there on merit and it should be a fantastic final.
“The Winter Derby has been extremely tough to call, and connections of each greyhound will be hopeful that they can land the big prize.
“It’s nice to have a 900m marathon on the card as well along with a 264m Category Three final and some puppy opens as we also get ready for next month’s Ladbrokes Puppy Derby.
“We can’t wait to see who our first major winners of 2026 will be.”
The 900m marathon – a distance rarely ran over at Monmore – includes ‘home’ greyhound Aero Academy, trained by Richie Taberner.
Fellow Monmore handlers Kim Billingham-Hine and Nathan Hunt have two greyhounds each in the £1,000 Ladbrokes Winter Sprint final.
Newinn Souly and Newinn Bachelor fly the flag for Billingham-Hine while Hunt boasts Got The Large and Bretons Girl.
