Muppets Page

	Name	Runs	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	Best Time
	Maxies Muppet	4	0	1	1	2	0	0	25.30
	Bowmers Sugs	9	1	2	2	0	3	1	25.02
	Dirty Gurty	8	2	2	3	1	0	0	24.73
	Donnas Angel	6	1	1	1	0	3	0	25.13
	High Flyer Jays	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	25.86
	Maries Courtney	11	2	0	1	1	4	3	24.97
	Orchard Foxy	13	1	2	5	2	1	2	24.89
	Tesstastic	12	2	3	4	1	1	1	24.99
Muppets Trial Results Muppets Race results	Will He Rumble	4	0	2	0	0	1	1	24.96

We all went to walk Muppet on Sunday morning, and guess what ?, She was not at the kennel, she is still in Ireland.

I asked Jim why she was not back, and he said it's because the people that transport the dogs over from Ireland will not come over unless they have a full load, as they wouldn't make enough money, he said the ferry alone is about £300 return then they have their fuel on top of that.

Apparently a transporter will bring over about 18 dogs, sometimes more, at £80 per dog. So I make that a £1000 profit per run after expenses, for 2 days work, they will not come for less than that, and they say the Irish are thick, I don't think so some how, lol. I don't even earn that in a month.

Anyway, Muppet should be back next week, so the 2 weeks has now turned in to 6 weeks, which now goes up to £460, but what can you do ?.

Jim told me that he had a word with Mr. Kennedy on the phone and that Mr. kennedy had told Jim that Muppet was now chasing hard and was passing dogs with no problems, although Jim also said he can not guarantee that she wont go back to her old ways when she returns to Romford.

So we are hoping that Muppet will have a trial around Romford on the 9th September, and then if she clocks a grading time she could be on the card the following week, and then 2 weeks after that Muppet will be no longer classed as a puppy as she will then be 2 years old.

My daughter was at Romford stadium with her boyfriend on Wednesday night and whilst there, she was told by Jim that Muppet will be back next week, after having two more runs. So the 2 weeks ended up being 5 weeks and costing £410

He also said, that when Muppet first arrived in Ireland, she was very frightened and was ripping the heads off all the other dogs, pff, what ever that means, but only because she was frightened.

What I really wanted to hear was, that Muppet is now passing dogs in her trials and going on to win by a good few lengths without hanging around. anyway, it looks like we are just going to have to wait and see.

Good news about Muppet, there isn't any, lol. But as Jim keeps telling me, no news is good news.

I phoned the kennel the other day, to find out what is going on with Muppet, but Jim, I was told is away for a week in Scotland and Sue was not available, so I asked the kennel girl, Donna, their Daughter to give sue a message from me. I said I would like the bitch sent back over from Ireland by next Wednesday, because I feel that 4 weeks is more than enough time for her to be re schooled.

I also said that I will refuse to pay any more than 4 weeks kennel bill, I will probably have to phone Sue again today.

Still no news on how Muppet is getting on over in Ireland, and the 2 weeks has now turned into 3.

Jim said that he works on the theory that no news is good news, because if the kennedys were having a problem sorting Muppet out, then they would phone Jim.

I on the other hand, who doesn't trust anybody in this game, am thinking to myself, are you sure that they would not be happy to just have the bitch in the kennel for as long as they can, just to get the £50 per week that I have to pay, and how come, if there has been no news, then presumably things are going well, then why has 2 weeks changed to 3 weeks or maybe longer. This I will be asking on my next visit to Jims kennels.

Anyway, now for some good news, Orchard Foxy has finally won a race, clocking 24.79 in an A5 graded race, which is the fastest time out of the whole litter so far. And even better news for me is that I had some money on her, which will go towards Muppets holiday in Ireland, lol.

I have not heard any news on how Muppet is getting on in Ireland but hopefully Jim will update me on Sunday when I go to pay her kennel bill, I did e mail the Kennedys but didn't get a reply.

I don't know what I was thinking the last time I updated Muppets page but I should imagine that Muppet will definitely have to have a trial when she returns, because she has been out of the kennel.

I will have to stop worrying about her getting put into an easy race that she could win, and just worry instead about whether she will pass dogs in races without hanging about.

I went to the kennels on Sunday, to have a word with Jim about what he thought about Muppet and her race, and also to ask him what the plan is with her now.

Jim said its not good that she turned her head to look at the greyhound on her inside when the hare she was chasing was in clear view for her on the outside.

Jim also said that the plan is for Muppet to have a 2 weeks hard re schooling session over in Ireland at John Kennedys, where they have their own schooling track.

And then, if and when John feels that Muppet is chasing the bunny and going past other dogs to win her trials, then she will come back over to Jims kennels, but there is no guarantee that it will straighten her out, so it's fingers crossed from here on, actually it's everything crossed, because I have never seen a dodgy dog go straight in my life, although other people have told me that they have.

The transport cost to Ireland has now gone up to £80 each way compared to £50 when Sid was brought over 3 1/2 years ago.

If we try to be positive, and Muppet does decide to chase the bunny and goes well in her trials, and she is back within 2 weeks, then I think I am right in saying that Muppet will be able to go back on the card without having to have a trial, which means she will be in another A8 graded race, and if showing the same amount of pace down the back straight as she did last time and then actually getting on with the job in hand, she would have a good chance of winning. Because I remember Sue saying once that if your dog come off a bit sore, then they would not have to re trial, so long as they were not off for more than 3 weeks.

But then again the racing office might insist that Muppet has a trial before they will put her in another race, because of the fact that she did have a look on the home straight, which would not be good, because if Muppet does get on with it in a trial, she will probably clock 24.80 and then get put into an A4 where she would have no chance at all, as she is still very green.

I heard that Muppet was collected from Jims kennels sometime today, and is now on her way to Ireland.

I hope they have got air conditioning in the transporter, as it is a very hot day today.

I will update on her progress as and when I hear anything myself, hopefully the person who is re schooling Muppet, will not mind me phoning him once a fortnight, to keep up to date on how she is doing, that's if Jim gives me his phone number on Sunday.

Muppet had her 4th race at Romford on Saturday night, and what happened on the run in was not good, and is what no owner likes to see.

She trapped slowly, but the others were not much quicker, and she came off the 2nd bend in 3rd position. As she entered the back straight, T1 had the lead, about 4 lengths ahead of T 5 who was a length ahead of Muppet, Muppet then showed great middle pace to go past T5 and catch the leader T1 rounding the 3rd bend, only to run right up its backside, causing Muppet to go backwards 2 or 3 lengths, as they rounded the last bend T5 was gaining ground on T1 and Muppet was trying to come again and could possibly of won the race if she hadn't slowed down to have a look at the 1 dog on the way past, she didn't fight but she did look at the 1 dog on her inside.

Muppet finished 2nd beaten by 1 length, clocking 25.36 on a track that was 20 fast. To see the result click on the link above.

Muppet will now be sent over to Ireland for Re schooling, apparently the man over there is very good with difficult pups, ( ones that don't chase or are a bit dodgy, like Muppet, lol. ) So lets hope he can get her chasing the bunny and not the other dogs.

Hello again, well the racing office made the going for Muppets race 30 fast and as the night went on the going dropped down to normal, which is what you would expect as the track dries out during the course of the meeting.

So the first three races, which include that nice 24.66 in Muppets race, was +30, the 4th race was +20, and the 5th race, which was over 575m, was +10, and the rest of the meeting from race 6 onwards was Normal.

So you might say to yourself, well what's wrong with that ?, and I would say, that on the result sheet for the trials before racing that night, the going was only +10 and muppets race was only 10 minutes after the last trial, that's what's wrong with that, lol.

Anyway if you would like to see Muppets race video from the other night, then please click here.

I am away again this weekend, so it's sods law that Muppet is due to run on Saturday evening, Muppet is in the first race at 7 30pm.

1 AUGHERMON SLIPPY Paul Young 3.88 25.30 Plenty of runs but rarely in the first three home, will not find many easier races than this

2 DAVYS CHARMER Margaret Lucas 3.88 25.24 Finished 3/4L in front of Muppet last time out.

3 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 4.02 25.30 An improvement on her sectional times would be of some help.

5 SOLITAIRE STAR (W) Paul Young 3.92 25.36 had 7 races at Romford and yet to win.

6 BREATH OF SPRING (W) Margaret Lucas 3.84 25.32 4 wins from 15 races this year but in slow times, its last 5 races read 5th 5th 5th 6th 6th.

I think the race will be between traps 2, 3 and 5, and T4 would have a chance too, if it can find 50 spots on its last race time.

If Muppet could just trap a bit quicker, then I think she could win this race. as I can see traps 1 and 2 leading and Muppet chasing them home.

Muppet run a very good race last night, finishing 3rd, beaten 3 1/2L and 3/4L, she might of even got 2nd place if she hadn't checked up behind the 2 dog on the run in, when she decided to switch from the outside to the inside.

I was a bit pissed off with the amount of time that the winner found first time out, compared to its best trial time, a 72 spots improvement or 9 lengths.

The winner, COMPLIANCE CHAMP, who clocked 24.66 in an A8, lol. compared to its best trial time of 25.38. That time was only bettered in 3 other races out of the 10 races over 400m and would of been good enough to of won the A3 in the 9th race, so it will no doubt get put up a few grades for that win.

Still It was nice to see Muppet showing some good middle pace down the back straight, going from last to 3rd place, Well done Muppet.

I will put the video on here as soon as I can afford to buy it, Pay day Friday, Yipeee.

At last, Muppet has her next race on Wednesday evening, she is in the first race at 7.30pm, running from trap 3.

1 COMPLIANCE CHAMP Paul Young This is its first race so no times available.

3 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 4.04 25.51 Will be doing her running from the 2nd bend onwards.

6 MALDEN BREEZE (W) Paul Young 3.84 25.20 only had 69 races to date, lol. and has clocked the fastest time as too, sure to go off the fav as it has far more experience than the other 5 runners.

Not too sure what the 1 dog is capable of but I would like to see Muppet finish in the first three home.

At last Muppet has graded in, and should soon be on the card, she even managed to just get under a 4 second sectional in her solo trial, so well done Muppet

She is not on the card for Saturday, so hopefully she will be in a nice early race on Monday or Wednesday, and lets hope it's an A8.

We had to pay the bill, so had a quick ward with Jim about Muppet, he said she was unlucky not to of graded last week and he will be giving her a solo trial on Tuesday so she will have a clear run of the track, which should help her to do the time required.

So fingers crossed, I never go to watch solo trials, so lets hope the Romford web site is up and running by Tuesday afternoon, so I can check the result.

Another disappointment at Romford stadium on Tuesday, as Muppet clocks 25.38, on a track rated 20 fast, which gives her a calculated 25.58, that's just 8 spots or 1 length outside the grading time.

It wasn't her run that disappointed us, it was the fact that Muppet was in trial number 12 and the track was a bit churned up by then, so after Muppets trial they put the tractor round, and then, on a much better running surface and in the very next trial after Muppets, they made the going only 10 fast, which meant that Muppet would of graded in with a calculated time of 25.48

So that means Muppet will again need to have another trial in order to get back on the card. I might ask Jim to give her a trial before racing, because then at least you know the track should be in a lot better shape as they don't usually have many trials before racing.

Muppets trial on Tuesday was a lot better than last week but her time was still 12 spots outside the grading time, so another trial will be required next week.

After taking a bump at the first bend Muppet run on to finish 2nd beaten 1 1/4 lengths clocking 25.72 on a track running 10 slow.

I asked another owner from Jims kennels to walk Muppet for me today, as I was away for the weekend, and I also asked him to find out if she had gone lame, and when he asked Sue had Muppet finished lame after her trial last Tuesday, Sue replied, No she is just very slow, lol.

So Muppet will be having another trial at Romford on Tuesday, so lets hope she grades in this time. I won't be able to go and watch her trial as I am visiting relatives up north, so fingers crossed.

A dismal trial by Muppet on Tuesday, I should of stayed in bed, and her too come to that, she trapped ok for her, doing her usual 4 second sectional and then just went backward after that, getting beaten by nearly 10 lengths, clocking a slow time of 26.06 on a track running normal, compared with her 25.76 she clocked last week. I suppose you would expect her to ease off a little bit rounding the last 2 bends, as she had lost sight of the bunny by then, which was on its way up the home straight.

Maybe she will come into season soon and put us all out of our misery, lol. Lets hope she's not bloody lame again, cos I will give up on her and take her home.

It's funny because the bitch ( SEKON SUE ) that beat Muppet last week, won her trial on Tuesday but was 50 spots slower than when she beat Muppet, Muppet was only 30 spots slower than last week, but looked useless in her trial.

As I am away for the weekend I won't even be able to get to the kennels to see if she is ok, but as soon as I do find out I will update this page.

It was a nice sunny day at Romford toady, but unfortunately Muppet didn't go fast enough to get graded back onto the card, and will require another trial next week.

After breaking from the traps better than usual and clocking a sectional time of 4.11 she found herself in her usual position, LAST, lol, at the first bend, but she did show a bit of pace down the back straight and stayed on well to finish 2nd beaten just under 5 lengths. The track started off 20 slow but by the time we got to Muppets trial, it was running normal, which is a shame as Muppet was only 17 spots outside the grading time.

I was happy with the way Muppet run her trial but was just a bit disappointed that she didn't manage to grade in 1st first time of asking, I mean, is that too much to ask, lol.

But there was one thing that I was happy to see, and that was that Muppet has put on another Kilo since her last trial.

Today was a beautiful sunny morning, so we got to the kennels a little earlier than usual in order to pay the kennel bill before all the other owners arrived, otherwise you end up queuing outside Jims office for up to an hour.

Jim told me that Muppet was passed fit by the physio last week and she was also galloped and came off sound, so she will be booked for a trial at Romford on Tuesday.

We walked Muppet on Sunday and was told by Sue that Muppet will be checked over again on Tuesday, before she is booked for a trial, so no trial this Tuesday, but hopefully next Tuesday, or maybe they can give her one before racing, who knows.

Laura and I went to walk Muppet on Sunday, and as usual for a bank holiday weekend, it was hissing down with rain.

I am happy to say that Muppet is nowhere near as nervous as she was 6 months ago and is very keen to go for her walks on a Sunday now.

Nothing to report on Muppet at the moment, but we are hoping that she will have a trial on Tuesday 3rd June.

Oh dear, I was right about one of the pups winning on Saturday, but I was wrong about which one it would be, as usual, lol.

Sugs didn't run to well, and Foxy was slow away and then got held up a bit at the first bend, before running on well to finish 3rd, albeit some way behind the winner.

So the first pup to win a race was Maries Courtney, in the morning BAGS meeting, winning at 4/1. He was forced to check at the first bend but then took up the lead from the forth bend and went on to win by 1 1/4L in a time of 25.43, the track was 30 slow, so gives him an calculated time of 25.13.

Congratulations to the owner, who I believe is the trainer, Jim, as I can remember back when the pups were 12 weeks old, and I asked his daughter Donna how much her dad was asking for the pups, as I like the look of the brindle dog, she replied, I don't know how much he is thinking of asking yet, but I don't think he will sell the brindle dog because he likes that one himself, lol.

As Laura and I really did want a brindle pup, and there was only one other brindle pup in the litter, which was Muppet, we bought her instead, the only problem with bitches is that they come into season and have to be off for 12 weeks, and if you get one that has a season every 6 month you get very little racing out of them and if they go lame in between, then you have to do what I do, and that is to go and watch other peoples dogs race instead, lol.

I have put a little chart up at the top of this page, beside Muppets photo, with a list of all the pups names and how many races they have had and what position they finished in. The list will be in alphabetical order, except for Muppet, who will be at the top, lol.

Whilst the physiotherapist was checking the dogs over at Jims kennels the other day, she found a couple of sore areas on Muppet and as a result she will be rested for 3 or 4 weeks, that's Muppet not the physiotherapist, lol.

Jim said at the moment it's not anything too serious but if she was allowed to continue racing then it would obviously get worse. apparently she is a bit sore on her hock and her back, but they will work on the injuries and she should be fine.

None of the pups have won a race yet, but I got a feeling at least one of them will win on Saturday. One pup is running in the morning and 2 pups on the evening card, and I got a feeling it will be either Sugs or Foxy.

I will probably pop down to watch the pups on the evening card, although parking on a Saturday can be a bit of a nightmare, the morning one I will watch in the bookies.

Before I start talking about Muppet today, I would like to send my condolences to the owners of one of Muppets litter brothers, Will He Rumble, who suffered a fatal injury when being brought down at the first bend on Monday evening, I know his owners loved him very much and will be very upset at loosing their young pup.

Muppet is not down to run on Thursday so will not be out until Saturday at the earliest, but as promised, below is the link to the video of Muppets first race at Romford, as Vincent Video Productions has kindly given me permission to put some of Muppets races on her web site, for which I am most Grateful.

Although Muppet finished 4th in her race, beaten 6 3/4L, I was very very pleased with the amount of effort that she put in during the race.

After a very slow start, which left her with a sectional time of 4.22, which was 2L slower than the unexpected favourite in trap 2, Muppet was right up its bum as they came off the 2nd bend, and looked to me as though she would of entered the back straight a lot faster if the 2 dog was not in the way, then showing a little bit of pace down the back straight, she was forced to check again at the 3rd bend, but once a gap appeared she stayed on well to take 4th place.

Traps 6, 5, & 1 had gone so far clear down the back straight, that there was no sign of the other 3 runners on the video replay, so there is no point me putting the video of this race on the web site.

If I had not gone to the track to watch the race, I would not of seen how well Muppet had really run, and as you can see from the result T1 ALRITA GHOST, at a nice price of 7/1 has returned to winning ways after finishing 6th in her previous 3 races and 2 months off the card before that. To see the result click here

Muppet has her next race on Thursday afternoon at 4.27pm, she has been dropped a grade to A8 and the race will be live in the betting shops, it should also be possible to get live commentary online from some of the big name bookies, such as William Hill and Corals, and for anyone who would like to listen to the race, here are the links to those two bookies. Hills Coral - - - You might have to click on play where it says - - Additional Live Greyhound Commentary

1 ALRITA GHOST Martyn Wiley 3,84 25.36 This is an old girl in poor form, has done better and she was off for 2 months during Feb and March

2 SISNEMESIS ZETA Margaret Lucas 3.93 25.28 This one had its first race last Saturday in the race before Muppet, the winner clocked 24.68 so should find this race a bit easier.

3 DAYANOSO Maxine Locke 3.94 25.47 Has had 9 races, all A8's and has not won any of them, did its best time last time out but I can not see it winning this race either.

4 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 4.04 25.51 I was pleased with her first race and am also please with the down grade, I dont think she will win but with a clear run should get a lot closer than last time.

5 ROOF US (W) Paul Young 3.76 25.15 This one is nearly 4 1/2 years old and has had two wins from his last 5 races, and should go well in this race.

6 GIRL ALONE (W) Paul Young 3.63 25.11 This one has a lot of early and has a good chance to lead for most of the way, although it usually weakens on the run in, but I have a feeling it will not get caught this time.

Once again Muppet has the slowest race time in the race, and with the 6 dog having clocked a 3.63 sectional, that means it could have a 5L lead over Muppet after just 80 yards or so, and with there being a 5L difference between their win times of 25.11 to Muppets 25.51 then that's probably how it will stay, all we need now is some more rain and traps 5 and 6 could finish 10L in front at the line.

Having said that, this is an easier race for Muppet compared with last time and hopefully the winner will not get below 25 seconds, unless it's Muppet of course, lol.

Muppet run very well to finish 4th last night, just failing to get up and pinch 3rd place off T6, but stayed on nicely to the pick up, hopefully she will turn out to be another 6 to 8 bender like Sid.

After a slow start, as usual, lol, and as expected, Muppet was the last dog to reach the first bend, but she did show a little bit of middle pace down the back straight and stayed on strongly from the 2nd last bend, and was only beaten by 1/2L for 3rd place by T6, who was the pup with the most experience in the race, having its 5th race to date and already a winner in A8.

Also as expected, my Trio prediction of 3 - 5 - 6 was spot on and paid about 12/1 with the tote and about 16/1 with the bookies.

So all in all we are very pleased with Muppets performance, even though she didn't manage to get under 04.00 on her sectional time and her race time was 25.31, we are sure she will improve considerably over the next 6 months, although she could come into season any time, but we are hoping for at least 6 more races before she does, fingers crossed, lol

If I am given permission by Vincent Videos, I will upload Muppets races for you to watch should you wish to.

Ok, I have had a quick look at the trial times clocked by the other runner, and Muppet does appear to be one of the slower dogs in the race, um sorry, actually, she is the slowest dog in the race, lol.

T1's best was --- 2nd Pellini Uomo 2 03.93 3322 2nd 2¾ SAw,Rails-Mid,RanOn 26.4 T3 25.24 in a trial

T2's best was --- 2nd Neils Warrior 4 03.77 1222 2nd 5¾ QAw,Mid,Led-2 30.3 T2 25.18 in a trial

T3's best was --- 2nd Saleen Style 4 03.80 2122 2nd 2½ EP,Mid,Bmp&Ld1-2 32.0 T3 24.97 in a trial

T4's best was --- 2nd Maxies Muppet 5 04.01 2222 2nd 4¾ Middle,EveryChance 26.5 T2 25.30 in a trial

T5's best was --- 1st SISNEMISIS DELTA 5 03.87 3111 1st 1 EP,Middle,Ld1 28.4 T3 25.14 in a trial

T6's best was --- 1st KAMJAM QUACKERS 6 03.94 4222 1st Hd Wide,LedNrLine 35.8 5/2 25.21 in a Race

So how do I think the race will go, well lets see, traps 2 & 3 should lead around the first bend, and with the 3 dog, Saleen Style having already clocked a 24.97, I will be surprised if it does not win the race, actually I am a bit surprised that it is in with these pups, because I am sure that a pup called Orchard Foxy, that is out of Muppets litter also clocked a 24.90 something in a trial and for that was put straight into an A3 graded race, I thought the P in P7 stood for Puppy, lol. Having said that, its first race was in a P7 and it finished 5th clocking 25.75 with KAMJAM QUACKERS in 4th,

Anyway we progress, T5's best time of 25.14 actually went 40 spots slower in a trial after that and I am expecting that one to do a lot better in the race as well. my Trio prediction for the race will be 3 - 5 - 6

Muppet will be slow away and possibly last at the first bend, but I will be happy if she can get under 04.00 for her sectional and can get near 25.20 for her race time, and if she can beat the T1 dog then even better.

What you got to remember is that this is a puppy race and anything can happen in these sort of races, but we are all still looking forward to it.

Muppet will be having her very first race on Saturday evening, she is running from T4 in the 2nd race at 7.45pm.

I think the racing office have been very kind to Muppet on her first race, as they have put her in a P7 race, consisting only of puppies, hopefully of the same ability.

I'm not saying that she is going to win, as any one of them is capable of improving considerably on their recent times.

1 PELLINI UOMO David Mullins Had one race to date and finishing last, but the winner clock a 3.67 Sectional and a win time of 24.86, so I would not take too much notice of that run, as a lot of pups miss the break in their first race, especially on a noisy night and to expect it to then clock better than 24.86 would be asking quite a lot, although I would expect a good improvement in this race.

2 NEILS WARRIOR Paul Young This is its first race and I have not seen its trial times yet

3 SALEEN STYLE Alison Ingram Also had one race to date when finishing 5th clocking 25.75, it also has a bit more early pace than Muppet, so will have to keep an eye on how it goes in this race

4 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds It would be nice if she could get under 4.00 on her sectional time and then show a bit of middle pace down the back straight and then staying on strong to the line, just like Sid. lol.

5 SISNEMESIS DELTA Margaret Lucas Another one having its first race, and also I have not seen its trial times yet

6 KAMJAM QUACKERS (W) Martyn Wiley This is the most experienced one in the line up, and I say that without knowing if any of the other pups in the race have any Irish form that I don't know about yet. Having had 4 races to date, winning one of them, which was an A8 in a time of 25.31 and also being the only wide runner in the race, the racing comments say slow away, but its sectional times are still quicker than Muppet has achieved to date,

All the owners will be looking forward to watching their pups run in this race, especially the owners of dogs having their first ever race, so no matter what the result turns out to be, lets hope they all come off safe and sound.

I will update on the runners again, later on, once I have found out what sort of trial times the other pups have been recording, but no matter what, we are all looking forward to watching Muppet at Romford on Saturday Evening.

After a Moderate start, Muppet found herself 2L behind her litter brother as they past the winning line for the first time and after completing the whole distance she was beaten by 4 3/4L, but Muppets time of 25.30 was a 21 spots improvement on her last trial and should be good enough to get her on the card at last.

Unfortunately for the winner, it will probably mean a grade 2 times higher than he would of got on his previous trial time. The reason why he had to have another trial was because the NGRC paperwork had not been completed on time before he had his previous trial.

We will be hoping that Muppets first race will be in an A8, but it will more than likely be an A7.

I had a bit of job getting these to run smoothly on putfile and ended up having to reduce the file size, but unfortunately that means poor picture quality, and also no sound, lol.

Muppets next Trial is on Tuesday morning, she is in trial No.31 so it will probably be nearer 1pm by the time they get to her trial.

She is in a 2 dog trial, with her litter brother High Flyer Jays, who beat Muppet by 4L in her last trial and had done the grading time, so not sure why he is having another trial, I can only imagine that maybe the racing office believe he could do a bit better, it was a very slow track after all.

Muppet had her 5th trial at Romford last night, and finished 2nd, getting beaten 4L by her litter brother. Jim said he thought she went very well and was chasing hard all the way around the track, and after watching the trial again on the video, I am pleased to say he was absolutely right.

There was some good news and some bad news last night, first the good news, Jim told us that the grading in time for pups is 25.50 and not 25.40 as I had previously been told.

Now the bad news, the track was very slow last night and the racing office decided it was 40 Slow. Muppet recorded a time of 25.91, take away 40 spots for the going allowance, that gives her a calculated time of 25.51, which is just 100th of a second off the grading time, and will mean that she will have to have another trial next week.

Muppet is the only pup in the litter that has not been able to do a grading time yet, apart from two bitches that have come into season, so have not had a trial yet, but we are quite optimistic that she will do it next week,

It was a beautiful sunny morning when we went to walk Muppet on Sunday and I was looking forward to taking some up to date photos of her, to put on this page, and then I realised I had forgot my camera, what am I like, lol, never mind I will try again next week.

Muppet is a lot better, both in condition and in herself. she is much more alert when out walking, looking for bunny rabbits or anything else that might move, she even stuck her head down a rabbit hole to say hello, but there was no reply, so perhaps there was no one at home, or they are just very unsociable bunnies, lol.

Muppet is having another trial on Wednesday night, before racing, the trials should start at about 6.45pm She needs to find 26 spots in order to grade in, and I am very hopeful that she will do it this time, so fingers crossed.

Muppet had her 4th trial at Romford last night, before racing, and she improved a little bit more on her time, but not enough to grade in, so she will have to have another trial on Tuesday.

Although on the trial result sheet, it says that she was 2nd for most of the trip and then finished 3rd, in actual fact, after trapping well and clocking her best sectional time to date, she was actually 3rd from the 2nd bend onwards.

Her time of 25.46, was just 6 spots off the grading time, but the going was +20 which makes it a calculated 25.66, but that's still 10 spots better than last time.

Hopefully next time Muppet will clock 25.40 which should put her in the bottom grade of A8, and then she can work her way up the grades.

I have just been looking at Muppets trial result on the Romford web site, and although Jim said he was still a bit concerned about the amount Muppets was eating, or not eating as the case my be, I noticed that between her first trial on March 11th and her last trial on April 1st, she has actually put on 1.1 kilos, which is very good, if she keeps on at that rate she will be just fine.

After the disappointment of Muppets trial two weeks ago, it was a great relief to see her put in a much better trial yesterday.

Even though she was last all the way around, and got beat by 5L, she still managed to clock 25.76, which is almost a whole second faster than her previous trial.

She is still obviously very green and needs to improve on her trapping, but the most pleasing thing about her trial was how much stronger she was in running and how well she kept going all the way to the pick up.

Muppet only needs to improve by another 36 spots in order to get graded onto the card at Romford

I just noticed that one of the dog pups out of the same litter as Muppet has its first race tonight at Romford, MARIES COURTNEY is running from T3 in the 8.53pm race, good luck I hope he runs well.

We saw Jim at the kennels this morning and he told us that they have done a lot of work with Muppet since her last trial at Romford.

Jim said Muppet has had gallops at the kennels and has also been around the schooling track at Ockendon, and now she has got a bit more of a back on her, and even I could notice the difference in her, so that's good.

He also said that she is not eating as well as he would like, but there's not a lot more he can do about that as you can't force her to eat.

Jim told me that he is going to book Muppet in for a 3 dog trial at Romford this Tuesday coming. It will be interesting to see how she goes, I am not to worried about whether she wins it or not, but I would like to see her get under 26.00

A very disappointing performance by Muppet at Romford today, while all the other pups showed vast improvements on last weeks trials, Muppet actually went slower, and it will be back to the schooling track for her, until she show a big improvement in her times, if that is at all possible.

When I watched the trial, I actually thought she run better than last week and was expecting a time of around 26.00, but when I heard the time was 26.62 on a track rated 10 fast, compared with last weeks time of 26.54 on a track rated 20 slow, I was gutted.

Muppet will need to find over a seconds in order to make the grade at Romford and although that is possible it would only make her an A8 grader

Muppet is a very playful bitch, and when out on her Sunday walks she loves to run along side and play with any dogs that come near her, and I am a bit worried that she will behave like that on the track too, but we will have to wait and see.

The best time clocked by one of the pups today was 24.93 and that is a fantastic time for a pup only having her 2nd trial at the track, well done foxy.

After getting up at 9am on Monday morning, and then later on, going to work at 7.30pm, to work right through the night until 6am Tuesday morning, it was straight home to jump into bed at 6.30am.

3 hours later, it was time to get up and get ready for Muppets trial. Thankfully the weather stayed dry until after the last trial.

When we turned off the A127 to head towards the stadium, we hit a little bit of traffic and missed the first 10 trials, but as Muppet was in trial 21, there was no harm done.

2 of the pups done really good times for their first ever look at the track and fingers crossed should turn out to be nice dogs.

So how did Muppet do ?. Well I was expecting her to clock about 26.50 for her first look at the track, that was going on her Ockendon trials.

As the traps opened, she was a little bit slow coming out, but not as slow as a couple of the other pups, who seemed to take about a second before coming out of the boxes and subsequently done very slow times, but had done much better on the schooling track previously.

Anyway back to Muppet, slow out of the boxes and moving to the right to run middle down the track, she looked like she was not trying all that hard at first, actually as they slowed the hare down approaching the first bend, in order for her to catch up a little, we thought she was going to stop chasing, but as they speeded the hare up again, to go around the first 2 bends, she started to chase harder and kept chasing hard all the way to the pick up, Panic over, lol.

Muppet enjoyed herself so much, that she decided not to stop at the pick up, and to go around again, lol. As my two daughters, Laura and Maria were laughing and joking, and I was worrying that Muppet might try to make a run for it, out of the stadium, we all mist the time when it was announced over the loudspeaker, But as she was a little slow away and not fully trying at the start, I estimated the time to be about 29.00.

We then went to the other side of the stadium for the remainder of the trials, in order for Maria to buy herself, and only herself something to eat, tight bi***, lol.

We bumped into an owner of one of the other pups, and he told us that Muppet clocked 26.54 in her trial but I didn't really believe it myself until it was confirmed by the trainer.

So all in all, we ended up very satisfied with her trial, considering the slow run up. Oh yes, and I just remembered, the going was 20 slow, so that makes her time 26.34 that's even better. But to grade in at Romford she will need to improve on that time by a whole second.

Muppet will be having another solo trial next Tuesday. To see a video of her trial, click on the link below.

We walked Muppet on Sunday morning and we are happy to say that she has gained a little more weight on her back.

All the pups are looking good, physically, with nice strong backs on them, except for Muppet who to be honest looks a little bit wimpy and skinny, and I put this down to her being one of those dogs that are very finicky eaters, only eats what she feels like and not the whole bowl, but Jim has assured me that he is working on getting her to look as good as the others and has started to give her a bit extra at breakfast time.

I believe her appetite will increase once she starts racing on a regular bases, and is using up a bit more energy.

We are at last going to see Muppet have her first solo trial around Romford tomorrow ( Tuesday ) and as promised I will try to Video the trial and upload to the site.

I received a phone call yesterday afternoon from Jim, he said he is not going to take the pups to Romford until next week now. He said he has decided to give them one more week of schooling.

It's was a lovely sunny morning, as we headed off to see and walk the dogs today, albeit a little windy.

We had to bring the kennel bill up to date, so we wont be able to eat for the next 2 weeks, but when we heard the news that Muppet had been having lots of Schooling trials and is now ready for a solo around Romford Stadium, then I think it's worth it. Anyway I need to loose a bit of weight, so I shouldn't grumble.

Jim told me that all the pups are having a trial at Romford on Tuesday 4th March, not sure if I mentioned it yet, but that is my birthday.

All the pups had been timed in their last schooling trial and there was just under a second between the fastest and the slowest.

Muppets time was 80 spots slower than the fastest dog, which made her one of the slowest in the group, with only one dog doing a slower time than her. Nevertheless all the pups achieved a good enough time for their first proper trial to make us think that they should all grade in ok at Romford eventually, but it's early days yet.

I look forward to watching Muppet go around Romford on Tuesday and I will try to video her solo trial and then upload it to the site latter.

When we walked Muppet on Sunday, Jim told us that he had taken all the pups to the schooling track again that morning, and that as Muppet was showing signs of keenness, Jim decided to do her first.

Jim said that they were put through the traps with the lids up and that all the pups including Muppet went really well.

But he is away on holiday now for 2 weeks and nothing will be done until he returns.

We all went to watch Muppet at the schooling track last Wednesday, and as Jim and his staff took the pups into the middle of the track, so that they could watch the hare going around the track as other dogs had their trials, they all went mad with excitement and keenness, and wanted to get off after it themselves, all of them that is except one, Muppet, who didn't give a toss and showed no interest at all, she just sniffed the grass and looked the opposite way.

And even when the pups started to have their hand slips, she still wasn't watching what was going on, and I started to think to myself that she is never going to chase the hare for a whole circuit, if at all.

But I was wrong, as soon as she was taken onto the sand track and the hare went past her she started to come to life, and when Jim let her go she chased hard all the way around the track. Thank god for that, lol.

Maria, my daughter, did video Muppet running around the track but it didn't come out very well, actually it's pretty diabolical, lol. but I will put it on the site anyway as soon as pos.

She said that Muppet moved so fast that she could not keep her in view, although Muppet does seem to blend into the track a bit. Muppets hand slip video, copyright Maria Bunting. lol.

At last Muppet has had a hand slip around the Ockendon schooling track, and I was told that she chased well.

Sue told me that it would of been a hand slip around just 2 bends to start with, although I wont be entirely happy until I have seen her do a complete circuit without stopping.

I was told that she will go to the schooling track again on Wednesday and that it is ok for us to go and watch.

My daughter Maria said she will try a video Muppet running around the track with her new camcorder that she got for her birthday, and I will certainly be trying to take some photos to put on this web site.

I was very disappointed last Sunday when Donna told me that as far as she was aware, the pups did not go to the schooling track last week as promised by Jim.

Although I didn't see Jim myself last Sunday, I thought it might of been because the track was too wet, as somebody did tell me that we had a lot of heavy rain during the day, I didn't see it myself as I was asleep.

Anyway, the reason why I got rather upset is because if they didn't go that week and they haven't been this week, then the next 2 weeks Jim and his wife are off on a 2 week holiday, so I can't see them going during that time. That means that we will be into the last 2 weeks of February and the pups will be 17 months old and they haven't even been to a schooling track yet.

Whilst the other pups he had out of Maxie Rumble and Faking It, were racing at Romford by that age, they are an April 06 litter who were having grading trials around Romford in July 07 and racing by the middle of August.

So if we have to wait for Jim to return from his Holiday in Mexico before they see a schooling track, then I can't see them getting on the card at Romford until April, and that's if she chases ok and can run fast enough to grade in, and they will be 19 months old by that time.

It's alright for him to say we don't want to rush them, but he hasn't got to pay the bill has he.

If the schooling track was miles away I could understand it, but it's just 10 minutes down the road, forgive me for not swearing.

I saw Jim today, and he told us that the pups didn't go to the schooling track last week, but they will be going this week.

The plan is to give them 2 hand slips followed by putting them through the traps and then finally in the traps. I should think all in all it's about a months work.

I was told that Jim has a set of starting traps on his gallop, so I am hoping that the pups have already been tried in them.

Jim said he doesn't mind if we go to watch the pup being schooled, but not the first time they go. because he doesn't want them to get distracted. but after that will be fine. and that seems fare enough with me.

Muppet looks to have recovered from what ever it was that caused her to limp on her front leg, and was galloped with the other pups last week. I didn't get to speak with Jim today about her but, one of the other pups owners told me that all the pups should be going to the Ockendon schooling track this week.

No galloping for Muppet at the moment, as she has hurt her shoulder, Jim said he thinks she did it when jumping about with excitement whilst waiting for her turn to go up the gallop, he said he might be wrong but she was definitely limping on the front leg, but she was walking ok when we walked her on Sunday, so lets hope it was nothing serious. She was limping on the front leg back in April, so I hope it's not going to be one of those injuries that keep cropping up every few months. I will update this site, on her situation, after I have walked her tomorrow.

The latest on Muppet is that she and the other pups are being given a run up the gallop behind the lure, 2 to 3 times a week, and all are progressing nicely.

Weather permitting she will start her schooling at the Ockendon track in January.

Finally, Muppet and the other pups have had a run up the gallop behind the lure, and I was told that all pups chased well. The bitches went up particularly well and one of the fawn dogs ( Elvis ) was the keenest of the lot.

So shortly they should all be off to the Ockendon schooling track, where they will start off with short hand slips, probably around 2 bends

The usual routine would be something like, a couple of hand slips behind the hare,

then they are put in the starting traps, and held with the lids up, and let go when the bunny goes past.

Then depending on how well they adapt to that, they will finally go in the traps with the front down.

And then finally, when they are running the bends and chasing well, it's of to Romford for their grading in trials. So Still a long way to go yet.

Muppet has now been moved into the racing kennels and will soon be starting her schooling.

Poor little Muppet was finding visiting day at the kennels a very noisy place and she was a little nervous when she first came walking out to us from her kennel, no doubt it will take her a week or two to settle in to her new routine.

It was a very nice sunny morning and a lot of owners had come to walk their dogs today, so the dogs in the kennel were even noisier than usual.

As Muppet seems to get very nervous when anything new seems to happen to her, I am beginning to wonder how she will be when taken to the schooling track, with so many new noises and a lot of excited barking dogs there, will she be too nervous to chase the bunny, and run straight back to the van with her tail between her legs, lol. you never know, but we hope not.

Today is Laura's 21st Birthday, and to celebrate it, we went out to take Muppet and Sid for a nice walk around the field, on this beautiful sunny day.

This time Muppet was a lot better on the lead and really enjoyed her walk around the field. Laura and I feel that Muppet is turning out to be a very nice looking bitch, and just like Sid she loves a good old fuss.

Today I took Laura to pay Muppets kennel bill and Laura was over the moon when she heard that she could take Muppet for a walk around the field today if she wanted.

Muppet walks very well on the lead but once she is out of sight of the other pups she gets very nervous and her tail goes between her legs, and as soon as we got to the field she would sit on her bum an refuse to walk.

That was the first time that we have taken her for a walk, but we will be making it a regular Sunday thing from now on, and hopefully she will get a lot better and enjoy her walks around the field.

We saw Jim at the kennels today and all the name registrations have been completed and returned. Laura was not allowed to use the name Lauras Muppet, so the 2nd choice name was accepted.

Muppets racing name will be, ( if she ever races ) MAXIES MUPPET. And she is now 11 months old, the time goes so quick.

Last Sunday when Laura and I went to walk Sid and to have a look at Muppet. It was one of those rare occasions when we also saw Jim, and he told us that he had taken all the pups out in the field for a run around and that they were all chasing after anything that moved, which is a good sign if you are hoping to race you dog, lol.

Muppet is now 10 months old. So hopefully, if all goes well, she should be having trials at Romford in 5 months time and then start her racing career in January 2008. and then probably come into season.

But before all of that, she will need her schooling, probably around the South Ockendon track. So fingers crossed as always.

On Sunday, Laura paid the 3 months kennel bill for Muppet, and that takes us up to the end of this month.

Muppet is looking good even though she is losing her puppy coat. We took some photos of her the other week so if any of them look ok we will put one or two on here next week.

She is 9 months old now and Jim said he will shortly start to get them used to walking on the lead and hopefully in a few weeks Laura will be able to walk her around the field with me and Sid.

Jim also said he will be sending all the registration forms off very soon, as they have all now been completed by all of the owners.

I can't wait for them to start having their runs up the gallop behind the lure to see how well they chase, or if she chases, lol. The time goes so quick.

We are happy to say that Muppet is running around and playing with the other pups, with no signs of any lameness or limping, like last week. Jim said she probably knocked it while she was running about. but she is ok now.

Laura and I always pop over to see Muppet on Sundays, and give her a fuss but this time we were greeted by Jim who told us she has hurt her front leg and can not walk on it without limping. she was holding it up just like in the photo above except it's the other leg. We are hoping that its only a thorn in her pad and nothing serious. I will update on the situation after next Sunday visit to the kennels.

Another 3 weeks have gone by and Muppet has got a bit bigger, I tried to take some more photos of her but it's a job to get anywhere near her. So the 2 photos below was the best I could do.

Jim said he let them have a run up the gallop the other day, not behind the lure or anything like that, but just a run, and he said she looked good in the way she went up the gallop. Lets hope she turns out to be as good as her dad was.

Muppet and the other pups have been moved into their new run and now have a lot more space to explore and run around in.

Jim Told us today how much the cost of rearing will be from now until they reach 12 months. It works out to be £120 a month and he will bill us every 3 months for £360. After that the cost will go up because they will start their schooling etc

Muppet has grown quite a bit in the last few weeks and is coming along just fine

Laura gave Jim the completed registration form for the Greyhound Stud Book along with the £10 fee.

1) Lauras Muppet 2) Maxies Muppet 3) Maxies Flyer 4) Noble Muppet 5) Majestic Muppet.

Jim is in the process of erecting a new and bigger run for the puppies, as they have quickly outgrown the paddock they are in at the moment. The new paddock will give them a lot more room to run around in and it also has enough trees to give them some shade from the sun, if it ever decides to comes out that is, lol. They also have their Kennel for when they need to get out of the wind and rain. Well that's all the news on Muppet for now, I was going to take some more photos of her but we had a lot of rain last night and she has been rolling around in the mud. so no pics of Muddy Muppet This time.

My daughter Laura, has been going on at me now for the last 6 month, saying that she wants to go half each with me in another puppy. I said I would keep my eyes open but no promises.

Laura always goes with me to watch Sid when he races and on Sundays when we take him for a walk at the kennels, so I said I would give Dennis over in Ireland a ring to see what he has available, but Laura asked me to look for a puppy over here so she can go and visit it regularly. As I have said before I was interested in a pup from Scotland but unfortunately they had all been sold.

At the same kennels where Sid is, there is a litter of pups, and every Sunday when we go to walk Sid we also go and have a look to see how the pups are doing. Over the last 8 weeks or so we have been watching them growing up fast, and have decided to buy a little Brindle bitch called Muppet for £500.

Muppet is out of Maxie Rumble X Maries Flyer. She was born on the 1st October 2006 and is now 16 1/2 weeks old and has been inoculated and earmarked.

Puppies are usually earmarked at about 12 weeks or later for identification purposes, each pup will have their own unique tattoo in one of their ears, for example ABC4. I am not sure but I think it's the right ear,

After handing over our cash we was given a green form, Which is the registration form for the Greyhound stud book. This has the breeders name, address date of whelping and date of purchase. Also in the bottom right hand corner is the pups earmark, this is made by the same tool that is used to tattoo the ear with a green dye.

Muppet will be registered in just Lauras name as it would cost almost double to put both our names down, this also applies when you come to register the pup with the NGRC.

registration costs £12 up to 12 months of age or £17 after 12 months up to 2 years of age.

At the top left hand corner of the form, is where you put the name that you want your greyhound to be registered as and below that you can put up to 4 alternative names, just in case the one you chose is not available.

Well, that's just about it for now really. Now its the long wait to see if the little bugger will chase or not. lol. As there is no guarantee that she will.