Trainer Richie Taberner has paid tribute to his team having been crowned Monmore Green’s champion trainer for 2023, insisting: “I couldn’t do it without them.”
Taberner landed the gong having had the most graded winners at Monmore last year with 433 victors from 2449 runners – giving him a win rate of 17.7 per cent.
That record also saw the Wombourne-based handler land the inaugural Greyhound Weekly Graded Trainer Championship at Monmore ahead of Kim Billingham, who amassed 368 wins over the year.
Graham Rankin, meanwhile, secured the inaugural Monmore Greyhound Weekly Win Rate Championship at the Wolverhampton track with a success rate of 24.9 per cent.
Taberner has had his trainers’ licence for a year having taken over from Arran Dunn, who remains an integral part of the Aero Greyhounds team as an assistant trainer while Jo Slater, also assistant trainer, has had a major hand in the kennels’ success.
Dunn had 17 winners before the license change last January as well, taking the kennels’ overall total for the year to 450.
“It’s a big team of us at Monkspath Kennels and I couldn’t do it without them,” said Taberner.
“I’m hugely grateful for the work Arran and Jo have put in. We each have our own kennel of dogs at Monkspath, and they’ve done exceptional work.
“Thank you to Jo’s partner, Andrew and my wife, Gillian for their help.
“Our kennelhands deserve a great amount of credit, as does Arran’s Mum, Pam Burford whose experience in training and caring for the greyhounds is invaluable.
“My partner in Aero Racing, Stuart Forsdike is hugely thankful for everyone’s work including Claire Butler at Home Run Hounds and her partner Dave Cartwright.
“Pete Rosney, stipendiary steward at the GBGB has been a big help, and I’d also like to thank the Racing Office and Paddock staff at the track for their support.”
Among Taberner’s standout graded performers in 2023 were Different Speed (10 wins), Crossfield Tyler (10 wins), and Aero Roland (9 wins).
A treble at Saturday’s meeting ended the year well for Taberner with wins for Foulkscourt Park, Aero Bono, and Sporty Jaxx.
“Crossfield Larry remarkably came back from a hock injury and went from strength to strength, setting a new 210m track record in September. That was one of several highlights during 2023 for us,” added Taberner.
“We’re really happy with how the year went and hopefully, we’ll move on to even bigger and better things in 2024.”
“I’d personally like to thank the owners for placing their trust in the team.”
