In a new regular column, George Sell talks to a wide range of passionate greyhound people to find out what makes them tick. This week we go behind the traps with trainer, breeder and Waterloo Cup winner Kim Gooding, currently attached to Towcester.
The best part of my job is…
“Being my own boss and working with animals on a daily basis. I’ve worked with horses and greyhounds my whole life. It is a way of life rather than a ‘job’.”
The most challenging part of my job is…
“Retiring a dog due to injury. It always hurts if you have to retire a dog before its time but we get them healed and find them a sofa. The flipside of this is that it often leads to another one of the most rewarding parts of the job. Seeing one of our dogs in their new home and regularly being updated with how they have fitted in to their new owners lives is just lovely.”
My proudest moment in greyhounds was…
“Winning the Waterloo Cup with React Fagan in 1989, which was the pinnacle of coursing events in England. This was a 64-runner stake and the ‘Derby’ of the coursing world. Fagan was a 43.5kg fawn dog with a wonderful temperament. He was the dog of a lifetime and like most good dogs he had all the very best traits. A very close second to this would be winning the Anglia Cup in 2004, another 64-runner stake, with Lackabane Gooch. Probably the fastest dog I ever trained but couldn’t work a yard so he had to win his courses by getting maximum points on the run up.”
The best/favourite dog I have worked with was…
“I can’t answer this question! There would be different dogs for different reasons. One might be for what they won; another might be because we decided on a mating, bred the dam, reared the pups, schooled the pups and then watched them achieve success on the track; another could be because they were just a pleasure to watch run regardless of their overall quality on the track.”
If I wasn’t working with greyhounds I would like to have been a…
“I would like to have been a vet specialising in horses or greyhounds.”
The best piece of advice anyone ever gave me was…
“Don’t go and work with horses, you won’t get anywhere.” I never followed that advice but have had the best time ever since and wouldn’t change it for the world.”
If I could tell my 18-year old self one thing it would be…
“‘Keep your animals as a hobby, not as a job.’ That’s not to say I regret anything, I’ve had a ball, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.”
The person I admire most in greyhounds is…
“Sally Merrison. Before coursing was banned in 2005 Sally was a great ambassador for coursing. She worked tirelessly to try and prevent the ban and then worked hard to overturn the ban. She chaired the National Coursing Club and served on the Countryside Alliance board and was instrumental in vigils and marches in an attempt to get the messages across from the coursing side of the argument. On a personal level Sally was one of the nicest people you could wish to meet. She was funny, kind and always in good humour.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThe person I admire most in history is…
“I don’t really do ‘admiration’ but I can really appreciate the many, many friends and acquaintances I met along the way during my coursing days.”
I am surprisingly good at…
“I can’t answer this question so my partner Dan has answered it for me! ‘Treating each greyhound as a very individual animal and maximising each dog’s potential. Kim sees a kennel of individual greyhounds, not a greyhound kennel. Also, the whole rearing process, from day one to schooling. Kim lights up when she’s dealing with the pups and loves the whole process of bringing them on from new born pups to racing greyhounds.'”
I am surprisingly bad at…
“Being ill. I’m a very bad patient!”
My perfect day off would be…
“Going out out!”
