Monmore Green competition is proving a huge hit

Racing manager Tony Williamson has shared his delight over the success of the ‘brilliant’ Monmore Open Championship.

The competition which runs until June 11th consists of both home and away leagues for trainers, with whoever finishes top of both at the end of the period winning a cool £2,500 apiece.

There are also prizes of £1,000 and £500 for the second and third handlers in the two leagues, with those incentives attracting consistent and quality entries for Open races on Thursday nights.

This past Thursday was Week Five of 10, with Kim Billingham-Hine sitting top of the home league while Kevin Hutton (Towcester) leads the away standings.

“It’s been brilliant so far, this is the first time we have done the Monmore Open Championship, and we’re delighted with how it’s gone,” said Williamson.

“By doing this, we’ve managed to keep the top greyhounds of our own trainers here at Monmore while also attracting quality from trainers further afield.

“We’re building up to hosting the Trainers’ Judgment Night on June 18th, which is for the top six Open trainers in the country for 2025, and this competition has followed the same format with the winner of the race getting 10 points and so on.

“Three trainers who will be here for the Judgment Night have also been a big part of the Monmore Open Championship. Kevin Hutton is top of the away league while Mark Wallis is second, and then Nathan Hunt is second in the home league.

“Last year’s £10,000 Summer Stayers Classic champion Vhagar ran here at Monmore on Thursday night while Armagh Daithi, who made the Gold Cup final, has been in great form over the past few weeks.

“We’d like to thank every trainer who has supported the competition so far and wish them all the very best for the rest of it. The trainers who are the champions at the end will very much deserve the honour.”

After Thursday night’s action, the top three in each league remain the same with Billingham-Hine leading the home league, Hunt in second and Richie Taberner third.

Brian Thompson, though, top-scored for the night with 56 points and now sits fourth in the home table on 116 overall – behind Taberner on 164. Hutton leads the away standings with Wallis second and Rachel Hill third.

The most eye-catching performance of the night saw Vhagar (Wallis) clock a stunning 37.26secs when winning over 630m – not far off the 37.07secs track record set by Iceman Brutus almost 20 years ago.

Vampire Bob, trained by David Page and owned by the David De Broomhead Syndicate, did phenomenally to win a strong race that included Armagh Daithi and was presented with his special Monmore Owners’ Asssociation Dog of the Year 2025 jacket after the race.