Tiffield Tarquin thrills 96-year-old owner with Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby success
Tiffield Tarquin delights owner in the first round of the Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby
96-year-old owner delighted with Tiffield Tarquin in Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby
Tiffield Tarquin has his 96-year-old owner dreaming of Classic glory following a scintillating first-round victory in the Star Sports/TRC English Greyhound Derby on Thursday evening.
Bill McColl, who owns the Roy Peckham-trained dog with his wife, Jenny, was at Towcester to see his December 2022 son of Broadstrand Bono justify 4/6 favouritism in ultra-impressive fashion.
The 35-kilo wide seed blasted out of trap six and quickly raced clear of his main rival Bubbly Charger on the way to scoring by six and three-quarter lengths in an excellent 28.94 (-20).
Speaking to Jonathan Hobbs of Gone To The Dogs - Live!, McColl said: “I enjoyed that very much. One is always a bit worried about it beforehand but when he actually turns it up, it is even more encouraging.
“I think he’s a good dog.”
On the 80th anniversary of VE Day, it proved to be a particularly momentous success for the ex-forces man.
“Well, yes, it does,” McColl replied when asked if it the anniversary made Tiffield Tarquin’s win even more special.
“I remember on VE Day I got two kites and I tied them together, put a few flags on, like Union Jacks, and put them over the main Northampton to Towcester road.”
McColl has been going greyhound racing for nearly 80 years and he told of how his interest in the sport first started.
“I used to go to Northampton races when I was around 18. I had a great friend who was a bit of a punter and we used to go there,” explained the winning owner.
“And then when I was in the forces, we used to go to Ashington in Northumberland. It was a mining town and they had a track there.
“We used to go and lose some money - £2 a week wasn’t very much!”
Tiffield Tarquin posted the third-fastest time of the night and was arguably the most impressive on the eye.
When asked about Monday’s second round draw, McColl added: “We hope for the best! It’s all a lot of fun.”
