Muppets Page

	Name	Runs	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	Best Time
	Maxies Muppet	39	2	10	10	4	8	5	24.74
	Bowmers Sugs	18	2	3	4	0	5	4	24.95
	Dirty Gurty	40	8	7	10	4	7	4	24.59
	Donnas Angel	28	5	2	3	1	7	10	25.12
	High Flyer Jays	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	25.86
	Maries Courtney	11	2	0	1	1	4	3	24.97
	Orchard Foxy	17	4	2	5	2	1	3	24.89
	Tesstastic	42	7	9	5	9	7	5	24.46
Muppets Trial Results	Will He Rumble	4	0	2	0	0	1	1	24.96

What a great race that was, I feel so sorry for all the people connected with the Hungarian runner, Lyreen Mover who lead all the way, only to be caught very near the winning line by Bandicoot Tipoki who himself looked in an imposable position down the back straight.

There was not a lot between the first 5 home, with the winning distances being, 1/2L and a short head three times and another length back to 6th.

The fav Toomaline Jack, out of Hallucinate, was challenging the leader around the last 2 bends but didn't go past the Hungarian dog click here to see the result

Did anybody notice the connection between the Derby winner and Sid. Well the winning trainer was Charlie Lister, that's his 5th derby winner and the owner was Ray White who also owned Rapid Ranger which won the derby two years running in 2000 and 2001 clocking the same time of 28.71 in both finals.

Ok so there is no actual connection breeding wise between Bandicoot Tipoki and Sid but the connection is that Ray White owned and Charlie Lister trained Drumsna Cross who just so happens to be Sids Mum, lol.

Earlier in the meeting there was another runner out of Hallucinate, Ministry Nagic and this one trained by L Sams run a very good race and looks like a nice one to keep your eyes on this year.

Oh dear, am I putting the kiss of death on those poor greyhounds in the derby or what.

The 6 dog that I thought would make Lyreen Mover work hard to win the race could only manage 5th and poor Head Iton Ellis, who looked like he was sure to qualify coming off the last bend only to become the meat in the sandwiched between the 1 and the 2 dog which allowed trap 4 dog to beat him for the 3rd qualifying place by 1/2L, oh well that's dog racing for you.

The dog from Hungary, Lyreen Mover, once again lead from the start and hung on to win by a short head, so that's 5 wins from 5, very well done.

The other dog to have won all 5 of his derby heats is the Irish trained Toomaline Jack who also holds the track record for the new Wimbledon track, when I say new, I just mean that they sold off the grandstand and moved the winning line to the other side of the stadium which means new track records for all race distances, having said that, it was a very fast time.

Toomaline Jack will certainly go off as favourite in the final on Saturday and will probably win, Oh dear, have I put the kiss of death on that one too, lol.

There is only one dog in the race that I hope does not win the derby and that is simply because I can not stand the trainer. Please God, don't let him win, lol.

The draw for the final is below, roll on Saturday, when once again it will be live on SKY TV, and lets hope this time there is no stupid speedway on at the same time.

The latest news about Muppet is that the day after she was taken to the rest kennels, she came into season.

Muppet has twice before shown signs of coming into season but then decided not to, lol but this time I have been told that she bled for the full 12 days so hopefully this is her very first proper season and because of this, Laura and I have decided to give her one more chance with her racing career, so she should make a return to the track in about 8 to 10 weeks.

Beaming Dilemma managed to take the lead at the first bend, cutting across trap 1 Head Iton Ellis who then lost a good 6 lengths, but my selection was not good enough to keep the lead or even qualify for the next round, so is now out of the Derby. Head Iton Ellis on the other hand ran a blinder to finish 3rd behind trap 6 and then went on to finish 2nd in his next two heats and runs from trap 3 tonight in the semi final against Bandicoot Tipoki who has been running very well indeed.

Give Mesome Luck is also out of the Derby, so I won't be winning any money again this year, lol.

Lyreen Mover the Greyhound that has traveled all the way here from Hungary has surprised a few people by winning all 4 of his heats, this dog has bags of early pace and missed the trouble at the first bend last Tuesday and held on by a Neck to beat Bandicoot Tipoki.

The owners must be over the moon, he runs from trap 1 tonight and is the 2/1 Fav, although I think trap 6 will make him work hard to make it 5 out of 5, but I dearly hope that they reach the final and have a wonderful night.

After walking Muppet this morning I was told that she has a wrist injury that is being treated with injections and in time Muppet could return to racing but the same problem could crop again, so we have decided to retire her.

Because I have 3 dogs at home at the moment I will be putting her in a rest kennel until after my holiday in November, after that she will be able to come home for Christmas.

One of the reasons she is not coming home straight away is because I like to be home all the time for the first week so that I can keep my eye on them, just in case a fight breaks out. If you have ever seen the mess that Greyhounds can do to each other when they fight, then you will understand my concern. I might bring it forward to June if I can get the time off work.

Well my selection got a good start last night but was caught on the run in and was beaten by 2L clocking 28.91 he is going to have to do a lot better than that if he is to reach the final.

The draw is being made as I write this and Beaming Dilemma has been drawn in trap 2 in heat 6 on Friday night, he has managed to keep away from the shorter priced favourites

The first three go through to the next round and I must say, I feel that he should qualify if not win this race, so fingers crossed.

Due to a guarding objection, the partially made draw for the Derby second round was stopped today and had to be restarted.

Irish handler Pat Buckley spotted that Faypoint Man and Beaming Dilemma - both now in the ownership of Keith Allsopp in the Irish Stud Book - had appeared together.

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1 Head Iton Ellis              100/1
2 Beaming Dilemma           66/1
3 Lenson Duo                    50/1
4 Glynncross Mal (m)       250/1
5 Courtcraft Jamie (w)      200/1
6 Westmead Scolari (w)     66/1

Oh well, one minute my selection had a 250/1 shot on his inside and a slow starter on his out side which made it look as if he would be out and gone and with 4, 5 & 6 all being wide runners, it was looking good for a qualifying place with only the 5 and the 6 dogs to worry about.

But now he's got a fast starter on his inside and an even faster starter on his outside and with a dog that doesn't quite stay the trip, you really do need to be out and gone with a big lead and not getting to the bend sandwiched between two other railers. If I was going to have a bet in this race I would have to go for the 6 dog, if the 3 inside runners are going to hit the first bend in a line, then I would of much rather my selection was in trap 1. still we can always hope the 1 dog misses the break, but it still will not be easy to beat the 3 and the 6 though.

Give Mesome Luck has got a good draw in trap 6 with 5 railers on his inside, so I have had a small bet on him as well.

Oh well, tonight's the night to see how my selection goes in the greyhound derby heats. I will be trying to keep my eye on it through the William hill TV web page, but last night I kept getting disconnected every half hour, most annoying, lol.

William Hill are the sponsors of this years derby and they are also the bookmakers that I have had my bet with, £20 each way @ 100/1 so if he reaches the final and finishes last I would get £500 and if I am very lucky and he should win the final, then I would get £2,500, lol, That would be nice, but knowing my luck he will probably miss the up get trouble at the first bend and miss out on a qualifying place by a short head.

Still, not to worry because those lovely people at William hill are giving all punter a second chance, if your dog is knocked out in the first round, then you can have a free bet for the same stake as your losing bet on another dog in the competition, how very nice of them.

There was one that caught my eye the other night called Give Mesome Luck who is a Sept 07 dog and a wide runner, he has clocked a good time at Hove 29.62 over 515m and has only had 12 races to date in this country and after his good win last night, he is a 50/1 chance with Hills. Or maybe I would play safe by taking the 10/1 on offer on one of the top 3 in the market of whom all went very well indeed in their heats, it's just that I do like a little bit of value when I have a bet.

I had a word with the trainer about Muppet this morning and was told that she was a bit stiff on one of her wrists and that he is going to have her checked out on Monday, so watch this space, although I don't think it will be too long before she is retired.

The Derby draw takes place today at around noon with the 1st round heats starting on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and I am hoping to be able to watch them live on the internet via William Hill TV. Click here to see what's put me in a good mood today

The maths is this equates to 32 heats of six runners and three heats of five runners (total 35) to be staged over the three nights ahead, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The first three will qualify from 26 heats, and the first two from nine. But those nine heats will also include the three five-runner affairs.

1 Boomtown Prince
2 Beaming Dilemma
3 Glenard Sunrise
4 Westmead Osprey
5 Anhid Bertie (m)
6 Kish Pirate (m)

Well I have had a little bit of luck already, with my selection managing to be drawn in trap 2 and in a 6 dog heat where the first three go through to the next round, but he will have to be quick away on the night, what with there being 4 railers and 2 middle runners in the race, so it's fingers crossed, but it could of been worse, as heat 4 has got 6 railers in the race and only 2 qualify.

Muppet had a race on Thursday 15th April and finished 5th beaten by over 7 lengths clocking a slow time of 25.55 Muppet was then given a 2 dog trial over 575m on Tuesday and was beaten by a distance ( over 20L ) the winner clocked 36.51 and Muppet was to slow to record any time at all. I don't know what's wrong with her yet, but I will find out on Sunday when I go to the kennels, but it look like the end of the road for her racing career.

The Greyhound Derby is about to start very soon and my each way anti post bet for this year is BEAMING DILEMMA who is 100/1 with William hill at the moment and they are paying out on the first 6 home in the final at a quarter the odds. He is a nice looking dog so lets hope he goes well.

Muppet ran much better on Wednesday evening finishing 2nd to the Fav in trap 1, coming from behind she went past the other dogs with no looking what so ever and was a length clear just after the line. Good girl.

Muppets race form has been very poor in her last 7 races and if she doesn't improve this month then we are going to retire her.

Muppets next race is on Wednesday evening, it's the first race due off at 7.30pm.

Trap 1 is a newcomer with only 2 races so far and must be in with a good chance out of the 1 box

Trap 2 has had 3 races to date finishing 2nd on two occasions but go beat 20L last time out

Trap 4 is capable of winning this race, but was knocked over at the 3rd bend last time out, by Muppet, lol.

Trap 5 is 4 1/2 years old and is having race number 144 she's not great but she wins more races than Muppet

Here we go again. Sorry for not keeping the sit updated, but after having trouble with my old PC, ( it's older than Sid you know, lol. ) and With Muppet not getting many races and me not having much money but plenty of debt and the weather being not nice, shell I go on, lol.

Anyway spring is nearly here and Muppet is getting a few more runs now, so I will try again.

Here I am again, late with my update, all because my ftp thingy is now playing up, in the end I had to transfer everything to another computer and then upload from that.

So with no hanging about here is the update on Muppet who is running on Monday evening from trap 3 in the first race due off at 6.39pm and it will be live in the betting shops.

3 MAXIES MUPPET 3.90 24.94 will need to lead the two inside runners to the bend

4 CENTURION ARRY 3.76 24.82 it's best time opposite was a one off it's usually no better than Muppet

6 LIPPY GIRL (W) 3.82 24.97 Only two races to date, has been put up two grade for winning by 7 lengths last time out

If Muppet can beat her inside runners to the bend ( which I don't think she can ) then she would have a chance to chase the dogs on her outside home, but I can see her getting to the first bend alongside and on the outside of traps 1 and 2, Traps 5 and 6 should be a good 3 lengths clear at the first bend and even though trap 4's best time was a one off, it can still beat Muppet to the first bend and will only get in her way after that.

BIT VIEW PLUCKY'S owner has won the never say lucky I haven't had to pay my kennel bill for the last 3 months award, after his dog had 14 races in the last 2 1/2 months, winning 4 of them, you plucky person, lol.

Muppet next race is on Thursday afternoon, in the first race due off at 2.08, how boring is that.

An afternoon BAGS meeting which will be live in the betting shops, the only good point is that I will be able to get to the track and back home again without hitting the rush hour traffic.

list of the runners below, This is a very quick look at the runners, as they want me in early tonight at work.

1 HEE HAWS PIRATE 3.80 25.04 that was a one off Sectional, usually nearer to 3.90 or slower

2 ARCHIES BELLA 3.75 24.71 Muppet beat this by 7L when it stumbled out of the boxes, but on its best times she would find it very hard to catch.

3 MAXIES MUPPET 3.88 24.74 will be interesting to see if she how she runs her race in daylight condition, I hope it's better than she goes in her trials.

4 COLAWN LAD 3,79 25.01 with the comments, AwkRunIn,LedNrLine, this is not really what I wanted to see on muppets outside.

5 ASK THE UMPIRE (W) 3.77 24.65 Trainer Wiley has two runners in the race, traps 2 & 5 and as these are the two which should lead early it is hard to see him not having the winner.

6 ALIS HOPE (W) 3.80 24.95 12 races back this dog finished 3rd in an A3 clocking 24.79 but hasn't won a race since the 30th July

looking at the race, Muppet will be last to the first bend and might find these a bit hard to catch, she will be in with a chance if the front five runners all come together at the 1st bend, which looks a possibility on their sectional times, although if I was going to have a bet in the race, my money would be on trap 2 to lead from the traps and miss any trouble behind her and trap 6 should really be good enough to take 2nd place in this grade, I will be happy if Muppet can come home in 3rd place, although last place might get her dropped a grade, lol.

I thought Muppet ran very well on Saturday evening, considering she had gone up by two grades to an A6.

She trapped well but did not have enough earl pace to lead in this race and got to the first bend in last place, she then took a bump at the 2nd bend but ran on well to finish 3rd beaten by 1 1/2L.

That's two races on the trot now where Muppet has chased well and got on with the job in hand with no messing around, and that's nice to see.

Trap 3 , the newcomer was very alert on parade and was going berserk in the starting traps as the hare was set in motion. so it was no surprise to see it trap in front and lead all the way to win the race.

After the winning line, as Muppet was passing trap 1 down the back straight to the pick up, it stated having a go at her, nearly biting her head off, Muppet was so frightened that she stopped running, lets hope that doesn't have an affect on her future races.

Muppet runs from trap 4 in the first race on Saturday evening due off at 7.30pm and she has been put up 2 grades to an A6 because of her easy win last week.

Looking at the sectional times of the other runners in the race, it is very unlikely that Muppet will lead from the first bend as she did last time out, but it will be very interesting to see how she runs her race this time.

I won't say that Muppet can't win the race as the times below are their best recent times, if I was to put their worst recent times, then it would be a very close run race with all dogs in with a chance.

Once again trap 3 is having it's first ever race so we don't really know what it is capable of doing in a race.

I am curious to see how Muppet will run this time, can she improve enough in order to beat her rivals, we will have to wait and see.

The traps open and Muppet gets away well, ( 3.88 Sectional ) so I wasn't to surprised to see her get to the first bend ahead of the inside runners, but I was surprised to see her actually beating everything to the first bend.

As they rounded the 2nd bend, Muppet was about a length ahead of the 1 dog. and the thought went through my mind, now please don't muck about Muppet, then all of a sudden as they entered the back straight Muppet had gone 6L clear, I couldn't believe it and I started shouting, go on Muppet, keep going, and she wasn't stopping for anything today, her eyes were on the bunny and nothing else, she won the race by 5 3/4L and she was still 6L clear at the pick.

I quickly went inside to watch the replay on the TV and then nipped back out again to get the time, 25.14 so I thought, oh well, nothing to write home about, that was until I started seeing the times of the following races. P8 Grade 25.73 A5 Grade 25.48 A4 Grade 25.08 A3 Grade 25.03 A2 Grade 25.01 clearly the track was running very slow and Muppets time was better than we had first thought, in fact the going was 40 slow, giving Muppet a calculated time of 24.74 her best time ever.

Muppet is down to race tomorrow night in the first race. She is running from T4 in an A8 graded race due off at 7.30pm.

It's not a hard race for her, as they are all a lot slower than the dogs she has been having trials against, so I am hoping that she will be up there with them at the finish, if not sooner, lol.

If she shows signs of hanging about during the race, then she will be coming home sooner than was hoped.

1 EFFERNOGUE BEG 4.02 25.73 only one run over this trip and its 575m races are no better than Muppets

3 LORD KEWELL 3.91 25.40 never raced before and the only recent trial result I can find was on 22nd Sept

4 MAXIES MUPPET 3.90 25.23 I am happy to see Muppet in trap 4 and am hoping for a trouble free race.

Going on the sectional times, Muppet could, with a good break, lead the inside runner to the 1st bend, lol, and that would be a first.

On their best recent times, the 5 dog looks to of been given the race, but in its last 5 races it has only been clocking 25.50s. I am more worried about how much the 3 dog is going to improve on its trial times, if it clocks a 3.70 sec and then goes on to do 24.80, then I will not be too happy.

I am looking forward to this race, if Muppet can't finish up there close with them at the finishing line, then there is something wrong with her. A reverse forecast with traps 5 & 4 looks good to me. Good luck to the Muppet.

Muppet Grades in at last, and we believe that she is 3 years old today, so Happy Birthday to Muppet.

It's a nice sunny day and I haven't got to work this week, so off to watch Muppet in her 3 dog trial we all go.

She is in a nice early trial, trial No.10 and the 1 dog looks a bit too good for her to be in with really, but we will see, after all, we only want to see her grade in, she doesn't have to win.

The traps go up and Muppet gets out well for a change clocking a sectional time of 3.87 but it's still only good enough to put her in last place, around the first 2 bends they go and trap 1 has gone well clear with Muppet about 2L behind the other dog in the trial, but trying hard to keep up.

As they come off the last bend, Muppet has almost caught up with trap 3 in 2nd place as the bump each other entering the home straight and trap 1 is still 6L clear. going towards the line, T1 is the winner with T3 in 2nd place and Muppet coming home in last place.

So we all stand there waiting for the announcer to give out the winning time and distances, remember that Muppet has to do 25.40 or faster in order to grade in, here we go.

Winners time 24.68 and the distances are 6L and 1 1/4L so we quickly calculate that Muppet was beaten by 7 1/4L giving her a time of 25.26 Yippieeeeee, now all we have to hope for is that the going allowance is not more than 10 fast and I will not know that until they put the results on the web site at about 5pm.

Oh well it's now 5pm, lol, and the results are up and the going was 10 fast, a sigh of relief, that means Muppet has clocked 25.36 and is inside the grading time by 1/2L, or 4 spots.

But then I noticed that the distances were not the same as was announced after the trial at the track, now they had put it down as 7 1/4L and 1 1/4L which means another 10 spots to add to Muppets time, so now she is 1/2L outside the grading time and I am now a little peeeed off, so I phoned the kennels, but no answer, then I phone the trainers mobile and again no answer because it's not turned on, so I decided to phone the racing manager at the track and after a 5 minute wait he told me that the distances announced after the race were a mistake. Ohhhh Great, and to make things even worse, the dog that Muppet beat in her trial last week, on that very wet and slow track, won his trial today in a time of 25.07.

We don't seem to be having much luck with Muppet, but maybe next time she will grade in, who knows.

Well, it's been 2 months since I last updated the site and still Muppet has not managed to grade back onto the card at Romford yet.

After being only 4 spots outside the grading in time on the 21st July, she had two further trials and just went slower and slower, after being checked over it was found that she had an infection somewhere in her waterworks and was given antibiotics and another 4 weeks rest.

Muppet then had a solo trial on the 8th of this month and was just 7 spots outside the grading in time, so last Tuesday, the 15th she was put in a 2 dog trial and we were hoping that this time she would grade in. I didn't go to watch the trial but below is what I was told by the trainer today when we went to walk Muppet.

The track was fine when trials began and the going was rated as normal but about half way through the trial session there was a very heavy downpour of rain and the track got very very wet, as the trials progressed the going allowance got slower and slower, Muppet was in the last but one trial and the track was in a bit of a mess by then and the going was rated at 30 slow but Jim feels it was nearer to 60 slow.

Muppet came from behind to win the trial by 1/2L in a time of 25 79 which is 39 spots outside the grading in time, Jim ( the trainer ) told me that the dog she was in against would normally have no trouble grading in at all at Romford, if the going had been given as 40 slow, Muppet would now be up and racing again.

I must admit that Muppet did look a lot better in herself when we walked her this morning.

Muppet had a 2 dog trial today and was beaten 5 1/4L by Fourteen Blue, Muppets time was 25.44 which is 4 spots outside the grading time, so she will have to have another trial next week.

Muppet finished 5th in her last race, ran on the 10th June, beaten by 2 1/2L, she clocked 25.23 on normal going, which is her fastest race time to date, although she did clock 24.79 a few weeks back but the going was estimated to be 50 fast, giving Muppet a calculated time of 25.29. To see the result click here

Unfortunately, even though Muppet achieved her fastest ever race time to date, she is once again lame and will be rested for at least 3 weeks.

While I was browsing the net recently, I came across a dog from the 80's with even less early pace than Muppet, the race was over 6 bends at the old Wembley stadium and he is running from trap 6. click here.

Muppets next race is tomorrow night,( Wednesday ) she is running in the 3rd race from trap 5, due off at 8.03pm, List of runners below.

I have only just found out that she is down to race, so I haven't had a chance to look at the form of the other runners but it doesn't look to hard a race for Muppet if she wants to get on with it. We have had a lot of rain over the last 2 or 3 days so the track might be a bit sticky, which might slow the early paced dogs down a bit approaching the home straight, he he he. So come on Muppet, it's about time you won another race.

Muppets next race is on the Saturday Morning BAGS card Running from trap 5 in A7 grade, due off at 11.44am. Once again, the race will be live in the betting shops and can be listened to on the internet at http://www.teamtalk.com/Coral/Radio/ and then click on the Play link beside Additional Live Greyhound Commentary.

1 KERWEX SUPREME Martyn Wiley 3.80 24.77 + 10 = 24.87 this best time was 10 runs back and he would take some beating if repeating it again.

2 REACHFAR ROGAN Maxine Locke 3.82 24.93 + 40 = 25.33 has only had 3 races to date, winning its first 2 in A8 grade and a good 2nd last time out in A7 grade,

3 TALISMAN Paul Young 3.81 24.95 + 20 = 25.15 one win from 6 starts in A8 company.

4 KAMJAM JACK Martyn Wiley 3.78 25.06 + 10 = 25.16 With its usual slow sectional times, I can see this one preventing Muppet getting anywhere near the rail in the early stages.

5 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 3.89 24.79 + 50 = 25.29 Hopefully she will not find herself more than a length off the leaders at the first bend and then she can run on to win, Hopefully.

6 HOLLYOAK ONYX (W) Martyn Wiley 3.78 24.97 + 10 = 25.07 after taking the lead at the 4th bend it was beaten by trap 3 when getting caught on the line.

I haven't got a clue how this race is going to turn out, so I will have a guess and say that trap 1 will get a nice run on the rails and go clear down the back straight with the others finding bother at the first bend.

Muppet finished 2nd in her race yesterday, 3 3/4L behind trap 3, who as expected, lead all the way. Muppet was in 5th position at the first bend, but then run wide and ended up in last position coming off the 2nd bend. Muppet did well to make her way through the field to finish 2nd and what was even better is that she didn't mess about at all in the race, not even when she had caught up with the winner at the pick up

What a race, Trap 1( Fear Zafonic ) pings out of the traps and goes 4 lengths clear down the back straight, race over you would think, but try telling that to the 25/1 outsider ( Kinda Ready ) trained by Mark Wallis, who was gaining rapidly on the leader in the home straight and got up on the line to beat the Charlie Lister trained dog by a neck in a good time of 28.65 Fantastic and very well done. To see the result click here

Muppets next race is on the Saturday Morning BAGS card Running from trap 5 in A7 grade, due off at 12.47pm. and it looks an interesting race, as I believe all 6 dogs have an equal chance of winning.

Once again, the race will be live in the betting shops and can be listened to on the internet at http://www.teamtalk.com/Coral/Radio/ and then click on the Play link beside Additional Live Greyhound Commentary.

I didn't get time to comment on all the runners this time but both the Racing Post and the Sporting life (web ) tip Muppet to win, so lets hope they are right, then she would of actually won enough prize money to cover her kennel bill for once, lol.

Trap 3 should lead for most of the race and could well win, but lets hope Muppet finds the gaps and is flying at the finish.

It's the Derby Final tonight and trap 6 Wise thought could be in with a good chance but who ever gets around the first bend in front will take some catching. I am happy with trap 3 for Farloe Reason, I wouldn't want trap 2 as for most of the races I have seen during this Derby, T2 has been falling out of the boxes and getting squashed between traps 1 & 3, they say that trap 1 never wins a Derby at Wimbledon but Blonde Mac very nearly did it when leading all the way, and was only caught by the great Westmead Hawk, so Fear Zafonic might well be the first T1 winner of a Wimbledon Greyhound Derby tonight. Good luck to All, I can't wait.

Muppet ran reasonably well yesterday to finish 3rd behind the two Paul Young runners and there was no real surprise at the result, trap 3 leading all the way and beating trap 6, the only wide runner who got a clear run on the outside, Muppet did well to make her way through the field to take 3rd place. To see the result click here

Farloe Reason has made it through to the Derby Final next Saturday. The draw is below.

I thought that Muppet ran bad last Monday as she started last and finished last beaten 4 3/4L, but the trainer said he was not too worried because the winner clocked a fast time, 24.66 To see the result click here

Muppet next race is on the Saturday Morning BAGS card Running from trap 5 in A7 grade, due off at 1.19 in the afternoon, lol. I have arranged to go out for the day with friends so I can't go to watch her but I will do my best to be close to a betting shop at about 1.15. List of runners below.

1 DOWNUNDA BEE TEE Margaret Lucas 3.90 25.14 + 10 = 25.24 Been off since December, has had 2 races this month finishing 6th and 5th.

2 KAMJAMOSC Martyn Wiley 3.80 25.04 + 20 = 25.24 2 wins in A8 company and 2 close 2nd's in A7 company from 10 races

3 COMPLIANCE TURBO Paul Young 3.71 24.68 + 30 = 24.98 If anyone deserves a win, it's this one. off since last October and without a win since last April, in its only two races this year she has finished 2nd and 3rd. I will be very surprised if she doesn't lead this race from the start and win very easily indeed.

4 ARCHIES JOY Martyn Wiley 3.75 25.09 + 40 = 25.49 This one only beat Muppet by only 1/2L when leading and finishing 2nd a couple of runs back.

5 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 3.89 24.79 + 50 = 25.29 I am beginning to give up on this one

6 ASK DONT TELL (W) Paul Young 3.82 24.93 N = 24.93 The only wide runner in the race, could go well.

Umm, lets see, Paul Young has 2 dogs in the race, ( that's bad enough, lol ) that have both clocked 24.90 something, and the other 4 trainers have 1 dogs each that have clocked 25,20 something or slower, lol So who do we think might be the trainer of the winner, answers on a post card to ....... lol.

Well it's the semi final on Saturday night and I only have one anti post bet left in the competition, Farloe Reason.

What a pitty Muppet can't run as fast as these dogs, or should I just say, what a pitty Muppet can't run, lol. But one day she will make into a very good pet.

Trap 5, A7, but this time it's the first race due off at 6.38, list of runners below.

1 LOCKWOOD LEGEND Margaret Lucas 3.78 24.74 + 10 = 24.84 Finished 4th, 2L behind Muppet last time out but can do better

2 RECTIFY David Mullins 3.85 24.78 + 10 = 24.88 Stays on well and when it wins it's usually not by much ( sh-hd to 1/2L ) 4 wins from 42 races.

3 DAVES CHARLENE David Mullins 3.77 25.09 + 10 = 25.19 Raced against Muppet last time out, took a bump at the first bend and finished 4 1/4L behind her in 3rd place.

4 FUNKY LASS Martyn Wiley 3.79 24.86 + 10 = 24.96 3 wins from 22 races at Romford, it's best time was when it finished 3rd to Lockwood Legend where Rectify was 2nd.

5 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 3.89 24.79 + 50 = 25.29 This is a record for Muppet, it will be her 6th race on the trot without going lame, there was a 2 week gap in April where she didn't race, why I don't know but this is her 4th race in May and she is getting fitter all the time.

6 ASK THE UMPIRE (W) Martyn Wiley 3.83 24.90 +30 = 25.20 Raced against Muppet last time out, was very slow away and took a bump at the first bend and finished 5 1/2L behind her in 4th place.

This looks a tricky race for Muppet, if she clocks one of her better sectionals, then she is going to be stuck on the outside of traps 1, 2, 3 & 4 at the first bend and if she does a slow 3.90 then she is not going to get on the rails at the first bend in front of trap 2, who stays on just as well as Muppet does. The 4 dog is the main problem for Muppet in the run up to the first bend ( middle to wide ).

The only way I can see Muppet having a chance in this race would be for her to ping out in front of trap 4 and then get to the rails at the first bend in front of trap 2, tucking in behind the early leaders traps 1 & 3, but with trap 4 having a 3.79 sec, I can't see that happening.

So we will have to hope that trap 2 misses her break, which she has done on a few occasions and that Muppet reaches the bend in front of trap 2 and just behind traps 1, 3, & 4.

But to be honest, I can see Muppet breaking reasonably well and then getting bumped most of the way up to the first bend by trap 4 and then reaching the first bend in last place, in which case she will have to much to do and would probably get checked up at bends 2 & 3.

I had a bad dream during the night and that is why I am up at 4am updating this web site now, I couldn't get back to sleep, lol. I was told that I had to have a operation and that I was to be done after the bloke in front of me, well he made so much nose screaming I made a run for it and woke up, lol. My GP's name is Lockwood and trap 1 is Lockwood Legend, Spoooooky.

The race will be live in the betting shops and can be listened to on the internet at http://www.teamtalk.com/Coral/Radio/ and then click on the Play link beside Additional Live Greyhound Commentary.

My 2 remaining anti post bets have made it through to the quarter finals, to be run on Tuesday. Farloe Reason ( C Lister ) ran very well to win his heat in a time of 28.72 at 3/1 and Shelbourne Aston finished 3rd in his heat beaten 1L and a Sh-hd by the anti post favourite for the competition, Fear Zafonic, ( C Lister ) winners time 28.70. The fastest time of the night went to another C Lister winner, Bandicoot Tipoki who clocked 28.65. The last heat was one of the best with Wise Thought staying on the stronger to beat Windy Millar by 1 1/4L in a time of 28.66.

Poor Old Charlie, 3 of his 4 runners made it through to the next round and then all got drawn in the same heat along with my other selection Shelbourne Aston. I think Windy Millar got an easier heat this time and should make it through to the semi Final.

Muppet finally clocked under 25 seconds on Wednesday night ( 24.79 ) when finishing 2nd, beaten a neck to T1 of all dogs, Benro Blue, who must of had the worst previous form on the whole card.

The race started as expected, with traps 1, 2, 3, & 4 all reaching the first bend together, trap 1 then moved off causing a bit bother for the other three runners on his outside, trap 1 came out of the first bend trouble the better with Muppet, as hoped, nipping through on the rails to take 2nd position. coming off the second bend she then ran middle down the back straight and around the last two bends, at one point I thought she was going to win the race and I was disappointed that she didn't go past the winner, not even after the line.

The winners time was 24.76 on a track rated 50 fast, which is no big surprise, as the winners best ever time was 25.25 but usually clocks nearer 25,70's or slower, below are his previous 9 positions and times,

6th 25.89 10 1/2L, 6th 25.38 10 1/4L, 5th 25.64 7L, 6th 25.78 6 1/4L, 5th 25.89 6 3/4L

When I get paid next week, I will buy the video download of the race and put it on Muppets page.

Muppet run well on Saturday night, reaching the first bend in last place, she then run on well to finish 3rd beaten by 3L and 1/2L, the winners time was 24.76 Muppets time 25.04 on a track rated 20 fast. To see the result click here

1 BENRO BLUE Paul Young 3.81 25.25 + 20 = 25.45 Had 9 races, won first time out but hasn't been in the first 3 home since, form reads as follows, 6th, 6th, 5th, 6th, 5th, 5th, 4th, 5th, 1st

2 KAMJAMOSC Martyn Wiley 3.81 25.04 + 20 = 25.24 Also had 9 races, winning 2 A8 grades

3 DAVES CHARLENE David Mullins 3.78 25.09 + 10 = 25.19 Another one that's had 9 races to date, winning one race three runs back in A8 grade and then finishing 5th in it's last 2 A7 races.

4 HOLLYOAK LOBELIA David Mullins 3.77 24.86 + 20 = 25.06 Two wins from 14 races both in A8 grade

5 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 3.89 25.04 + 20 = 25.24 One win fro 14 races, Muppet clocked her best race time ever last time out and I would like to see her improve just a little bit more in order to win this race.

6 ASK THE UMPIRE (W) Martyn Wiley 3.83 24.90 +30 = 25.20 With 71 races to date, winning 14 of them, including a win in A8 company last time out, this dog should get a good run round the outside as he is the only wide runner in the race, most of his races have been over 575m or further so he wont be fading of the last bend.

Oh dear, we really don't want to see Muppet getting a good break in this race, as I can see them all reaching the first bend together and we all now that Muppet likes to get on the rails at the first bend, it would be disastrous, so if she can just tuck in behind traps 1, 2 ,3 and 4 and if there is any bumping and barging then she can nip through on the rails. this looks a much easier race than her last 2 races and I am hoping for another good performance from Muppet.

My 100/1 hope in the greyhound derby was eliminated on Saturday night, but my other 2 have got through to the next round. Windy Millar was very impressive in his race clocking the fastest time of the competition so far.

Oh well, still in an A7 grade, and still in trap 5, and Muppets fastest time ever, being slower than anything else in the race, there is very little chance of Muppet winning this race, unless they all fall over at the first bend.

It seems hardly worth wasting my diesel to go and watch her race, or run around the track as the case my be.

1 LOCKWOOD LEGEND Margaret Lucas 3.78 24.74 + 10 = 24.84 I don't know what to say about this one, in it's last 17 races it has either been well beaten into 4th, 5th or 6th place, or it has won ( 3 ) or come 2nd ( 3 ). last year it was running in A4 and winning in A5 grade but was then off for 6 months.

2 SAN MARCO Paul Young 3.79 25.02 + 10 = 25.12 Was in Muppets race last week when it lead for 3/4 of the race and finished 1 1/2L in front of Muppet.

3 HYPNOTIC David Mullins 3.81 24.89 + 10 = 24.99 Had 4 races to date, winning first time out in A8 where it clocked its best time.

4 ARCHIES JOY Martyn Wiley 3.75 25.13 N = 25.13 This one is about as good as Muppet and they can fight it out for last place, lol.

5 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 3.89 25.00 + 30 = 25.30 If only she could clock a sectional time under 3.80, I've got more chance of winning the Euro lottery than she has of winning this race, that reminds me, I must by a ticket, it's worth £110 Million this Friday.

6 ASK DONT TELL (W) Paul Young 3.82 24.93 N = 24.93 The only wide runner in the races and should get a nice run around the outside.

If Muppet was to get a clear run and then really tried her best, with no playing about, then I feel she could be capable of doing a time close to 24.80, but I feel even that wouldn't be good enough to beat trap 1.

The Greyhound derby is now under way, with a £100,000 going to the connections of the winner. There wasn't so many entries this year, so the first round heats were run over 2 nights instead of the usual 3 nights, with the first 4 going through to the next round.

I like to have a few each way bets at anti post prices and most bookies are offering a place pay out at 1/4 odds on all 6 finalist, as long as they finish the race of course.

And I just couldn't resist the 100/1 offered about Barnfield On Air, this dog went lame in the final of The Champion Stakes at Romford last year and has only recently returned to racing. He has been drawn in the same race as the Anti post Fav, Fear Zafonic, but I am hoping that he can only get better in fitness as the competition progresses, alright, so he is now 4 years old but the 29.41 he clocked around Coventry which was only his 2nd race back from injury was enough for me to have some faith in the dog, after all, he doesn't have to win a single race as far as I am concerned, just keep in the first three home and reach the final ( easier said than done, lol ) and I will then have my place of 25/1 no matter where he finishes in the final.

Barnfield On Air was 4th in his first round heat at Wimbledon on Saturday night, and on his 5 other occasions during his racing career where he finished 4th he won the next time out, lol, Who knows, I would love to see this dog do well and not just because I have backed him, 2 years ago he was doing track records all over the country, 29.30 for 515m at Hove, 28.25 for 475m at the Stow 27.40 for 470m at belle vue 28.95 for 480m at Coventry and he was doing 28.60's in last years derby at Wimbledon. So after his 7 months absence from the racing scene, we will just have to wait and see if the old dog has still got it in him.

Slow away, 3.95 Sect, and last at the first bend, Muppet had it all to do coming off the 2nd bend at Romford last night. She took a slight bump at the start of the back straight then showed a bit of pace up to the 3rd bend where she was baulked, causing her to lose a couple of lengths, still in last position entering the home straight, Muppet stayed on for 5th place getting beaten by 4L, her time 25.15 on a track rated 10 fast, she then run on strongly around to the pick up but eased once she had caught up with the leader.

Muppet would of finished a lot closer to the winner if she had been put in the first race, which was an A8, the grade that she usually races in, that race was won in a time of 25.34 that's over half a second slower than the winners time in Muppets Race, but we live to fight another day, ooopps maybe I shouldn't say fight, lol.

Muppet had a solo trial last Tuesday morning and went very well, clocking her best sectional time to date of 3.83 that's much better than the 4.22's she was clocking this time last year. She also clock her best time for the 400m trip of 25.02

We are now on the last day of April and Muppet achieved 2 races over 575m during that month, where she finished 2nd on the 1st April and 3rd on the 11th, both in S4 grade, I have no idea why she has not been out since, as other dogs in that grade are running nearly every 4 or 5 days.

I believe the reason why Muppet didn't trial on Tuesday 21st April, as I had hoped, was because the trainer thought she had already clocked a grading time for the 400m trip back in March, but she hadn't, she was just under by 3 spots.

Tomorrow is the beginning of May and Muppet is on the card for Saturday evening, she is running in the 2nd race, due off at 7.45pm over 400m. The racing office must also of been impressed with Muppets trial as they have up graded her to an A7 and put her in trap 5, Below is a list of the runners in Muppets race.

Am I superstitious, fingers crossed that all goes well for Muppet in her 13th race on Saturday.

1 SAN MARCO Paul Young 4.01 25.35 + 20 = 25.55 Only the one race to date and trained by Paul Young, whos other runner beat it in that race.

2 ALRITA RIBBON Martyn Wiley 3.92 25.40 + 10 = 25.50 Only the one race to date

4 KEELYS TIGER Paul Young 3.88 24.92 + 30 = 25.22 Another Paul young runner which has had 3 races to date winning first time out in A8 company clocking 24.92

5 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 3.83 25.02 N = 25.02 Clocking her best time in a trial last Tuesday, Muppet finds herself in a race full of young dogs ( in age, not Pauls, lol. ) that are always capable of improving considerably on their best times to date and trap 5 would not be my first choice of traps for her. she will need to trap very smartly indeed in order to get on the rails at the first bend.

6 HYPNO DISC (W) David Mullins 3.79 24.98 + 10 = 25 08 The most experienced dog in the race with 29 races to date, but has been off since going lame on the 31st Jan, has won an A7 in a calculated 24.72 this time last year.

In trials T 1 San Marco has clocked 26.07 - 25.31 - 24.79 which is going the right way, best Sectional 3.83

Trap 2 Alrita Ribbon did 25.75 - 25.80 - 24.73 also going the right way, best Sectional 3.76

Trap 3 Catunda Jodie did 25.51 - 25.62 - 25.09 Bump Stt, B Bmp 1, having its first race this Saturday.

Muppet has a tough job on her hands in this one, especially being in T5, I can't see her leading up traps 1 & 2 to the bend and with those two having clocked 24.70's there's little chance that she will catch them before the winning line, so hopefully she will be dropped back down a grade to an A8 next time out.

With traps 2, 3, 4 & 5 possibly all running middle up to the first bend, I can only see Paul Youngs dog in T 1 getting a lovely run on the rails and probably winning the race very easily indeed, in a time too good for Muppet, but at least she has got a run to keep her in trim, good luck girl, x

No racing for Muppet since last Saturday and not on the card for Monday so hopefully she will be having a trial over 400m on Tuesday morning, and then, so long as she clocks a grading time for the trip, she will be available for graded races over both distances, albeit bottom grades, but then, as the song that was sung by YAZZ goes, ( The only way is up ) lol.

Litter sister Dirty Gurty has won 3 races in a row so far during April, in A4, A3 and A2 company and must be in with good chance of winning the Bitch of the month trophy, although it will be a very close thing between her and my wife Sue, lol. So that's 7 wins and 5 2nd's in 22 races, not bad at all, well done.

Only 3rd place for Muppet on Saturday night, not a bad sectional time from a bad draw but she didn't seem to stay on as well as last week and was beaten by 9 lengths, clocking 37.36 on a track rated 20 fast.

She is in the 3rd race, an S4 grade, running from trap 5, which is due off at 8.01pm.

To be honest, if last weeks race is anything to go by, then Muppet should be able to give these a head start and still manage to beat them, if only she can keep her mind on the bunny that is, that's probably why she has been given trap 5, because we all know from her trials out of trap 5 that she turns left from the traps to get to the middle which causes Muppet to give away a length or 2 to the other runners from the start of the race.

She needs either a very quick start or a slow start, in order to stay out of trouble at the first bend, the last thing we want to see is her going into the first bend on the outside of the other 4 runners in the race, because Muppet usually hugs the inside rails as she runs the bends.

I believe she will be the favourite and I am hoping for a much cleaner run race this time.

Granard Zag, the greyhound that Muppet trialed against over 575m on the 24th March, was disqualified for fighting in a race on Wednesday night.

Only 2nd place for Muppet on Wednesday night. After a fair break from the traps, something happened on the run up to the 1st bend and Muppet ended up at the back of the field, she then got forced wide at the 1st bend by trap 2, losing even more ground. She moved into 5th position in the home straight on the first Circuit only to run very wide at the 3rd bend. As she entered the back straight the leader, trap 5 had gone 6 lengths clear and was not going to get caught. Muppet showed good pace down the back straight and was challenging for 2nd place as she came off the last bend, but then you could easily see her turn her head and look at the 2 dog before going on to take 2nd place by 3/4 length.

The winner won by 7 lengths in a time of 36 34 on a track rated 50 fast. To see the result click here

At the end of the race as she stopped at the pick up it looked like she was limping on one of her front legs like she had a shoulder injury, which would account for why she ran so wide at the 3rd bend, but lets hope I'm wrong.

Muppet races tonight, she has been brought in as a replacement for a dog withdrawn from trap 3.

She runs in the 5th race due off at 8 35pm, its an S4 graded race over 575m and the Racing Post tip her to win.

That's all I can tell you at the moment as I have only just got in from work and have not had a chance to look at the other runners in the race, but an S4 is a lot kinder than I was expecting for her first race over 6 bends.

At last I have managed to get media player to work on my PC and have now been able to edit and upload Muppets videos of her win and 2nd place races back in January, if you would like to watch them please click on the links below, one of the videos for some reason has no sound.

To watch Muppets race, ran on 21st Jan, where she finished 2nd Click here. ( Sorry no sound )

I got a bit of a surprise yesterday when I went to watch Muppets trial. Muppet pinged out of the traps and headed towards the first bend with a 2 length lead. Granard Zag had caught up with her by the 2nd bend, but didn't get his nose in front until they reached the winning line first time around. At the 3rd bend he was 3/4L in front and as expected he cut across to the rails and Muppet checked up behind him, causing her to lose a couple a lengths, she chased hard after him down the back straight but got checked again at the 5th bend, Muppet put in one more challenge as they raced up the home straight but failed to catch the winner by a short head.

Well I don't think I need to say how pleased we all were with that effort, as I was expecting her to get beaten by a lot further than that and I was expecting her to clock a time of around 37.40, instead she clocks 36.89 which is only 1 spot slower than Sid clocked in his 2nd trial at Romford over 575m, although he did do a lot better in his races, that time should be good enough to get her into an S3 graded race.

I would expect Muppet to improve over the next 6 to 8 races, as her condition and fitness are well below that of the other dogs, due to the amount of time she has had off resting due to lameness.

In her Last race in October last year, when Muppet was unfortunately injured at the first bend, she was just beginning to show signs of a nice coat and a bit of muscle, if you run hands down her back or shoulders you could feel a bit of firmness in her muscles, but at the moment she is a bit soft, lol, but it will come if she can just stay uninjured for 6 to 8 weeks.

Muppet will be in a 2 dog trial over 575m on Tuesday ( Tomorrow ) and will be running from trap 3.

The other dog in the trial, Granard Zag, is a wide runner and will be running from trap 5.

I had to laugh when I found out that it has been racing in A2 company with sectional times of 3.70 and win times of 24.66. This should mean that it will have a very long lead for the whole of the trial, but at least Muppet will get a clear run and should not find any trouble at the first bend, lol, if she gets beaten by anything under 10 lengths, then I will be more that happy with her.

I have watched the videos of Granard Zag Irish races and he always runs wide to the first bend and then darts across to the rails when running the bends, he also shows signs of running off wide from the forth bend and in one of the races I was not sure if he was having a fight or just got into a tangle with the railer on his outside as they come off the 4th bend. to have a look for yourself Click here He is running from trap 5.

Muppet was unlucky not to have graded in last Tuesday. After breaking well and reaching the first bend alongside trap1, who I believe was having its first look around Romford, and as we all know by now Muppet runs middle up to the bend and then goes straight for the rails, unfortunately trap 1 moved off at the bed and they both bumped each other with Muppet as usual coming off the worst, she stumbled and went sideways and by the time she had recovered she was now a good 3 lengths behind trap1 with the leader in trap 5 a good 2 to 3 lengths in front of that.

Muppet run on well to finish 3rd, 1/4L behind T1 and 3L behind the winner, but unfortunately Muppet was 3 spots outside the grading time and will require another trial next week, she did go past both dogs before the 2nd bend after the line, and stayed a good length ahead up to the pick up.

I will be asking Jim on Sunday to give her a 575m trial on Tuesday as I am getting fed up with her always finding trouble at the first bend, which has been the cause of her going lame on her last 2 occasions and 10 races in a year is not good, some dogs get 10 races in 2 months.

Hi all. Spring is here at last and it's a beautiful sunny day, so lets hope we have a bit more luck with Muppet this year.

She is now 2 1/2 years old and should be running at her peak by now, she started her racing career nearly a year ago but has only had 10 races to date.

Muppet has been off lame since she last raced on 31st January, but had a trial last week, finishing 2nd, but was not quick enough to grade back onto the card, so she will be having another trial this Tuesday.

I am still unable to play the videos of Muppets last 2 races on my PC, so I haven't been able to upload them onto the site yet, but I will keep trying.

If Muppet doesn't start to show some improvement at Romford over the next few months I will be considering moving her to another track, either Sunderland or Hove and if she is still playing about instead of getting on with chasing the hare, then I will be thinking of retiring her as its not cheap to keep them in training.

Sorry about another late update due to me having to work overtime in order to earn enough money to have my car serviced and repaired.

To watch Muppets race, ran on 21st Jan, where she finished 2nd Click here. ( Sorry no sound )

Muppet last run on 31st Jan, where she found lots of trouble and finished last, beaten by nearly 12L.

After a good break, where it looked like Muppet was going to beat the inside runners to the bend and enter the back straight in 2nd place, she just failed to clear trap 2 and took a bump at the first bend, she then found trouble at the 2nd and 3rd bends and as she came off the 4th bend, the dog on her inside ran wide taking Muppet with him until she checked up to get on it's inside.

I was expecting Muppet to of been out again by now, and as she is not on the card for Monday, I am beginning to think that she has either come into season at last or gone lame again, but this I will not find out until Sunday.

Muppet runs again on Saturday afternoon, she is running from trap 4 in the 11th race due off at 1 04pm.

Once again the race will be shown live in the betting shops, it should also be possible to listen to the commentary of her race live on one of the big bookmaker web sites, such as Coral.

1 FOXHAVEN LADY 3.82 25.01 Poor recent form 6th, 6th,5th,6th with 3.90 sectionals but on her best form she would lead and beat Muppet.

3 SPARKLYNN JEAN 3.71 24.99 should lead them all to the bend and get a clear run.

4 MAXIES MUPPET 3.89 25.27 Who knows what she will do, depends what mood she is in, lol.

5 HOLLYOAK ONYX 3.84 25.06 usually slow away and finds trouble but can finish strong.

I expect trap 3 to lead up followed by trap 2 and hopefully Muppet in 3rd position when they reach the first bend. Muppet should then get a good run round but whether she can catch the early paced 3 dog or hold off the strong finishing 6 dog, we will just have to wait and see.

After a good break and her best sectional time yet of 3.89, which enabled Muppet to get to the first bend ahead of the inside runners, only trap 6, the wide runner in the race managed to lead up Muppet, with a sectional time of 3.79, but Muppet had caught her by the 2nd bend and took up the lead half way down the back straight by 1 1/2L, this is where I was expecting Muppet to pull clear but she didn't, she just kept the 1 1/2L lead to the home straight where she started to come back to the field and only just hung on at the winning line.

Trap 5, who beat Muppet last time out, by 3 1/2L, run a good race again to finish 2nd, just failing to get up on the line, thank god, lol.

I was disappointed with the way Muppet was coming back to the field at the end of the race because she normally finishes strongly and once the 5 dog did go past her after the line she did put in a bit more effort to get on after it on the way to the pick up.

But then again, she has reversed the form with the 5 dog from last week and showed no sign of hanging around and it was nice to get a win out her at last, as it all helps towards the kennel bill, so well done Muppet, keep it up girl.

I will put the video of Muppets last 2 races on here just as soon as I get paid and can afford to buy them.

Muppet is racing again on Monday. She is running from trap 3, in the first race, due off at 6.39pm and will be shown live in the betting shops, it should also be possible to listen to the commentary of her race live on one of the big bookmaker web sites, such as Coral.

There are 4 slow starters in the race and they are traps 1, 2, 3, & 5. Traps 4 & 6 will lead for sure and I will be surprised if trap 4 doesn't win the race.

I have a feeling that Muppet will find trouble at the first bend if she goes up with traps 1 & 2.

1 HEE HAWS PIRATE slow away 3.86 25.27 dropped in grade last time out and was only beaten 1/2L.

2 WITCHES PETAL 3.86 25.23 Beat Sid at the Stow over 640m and has slowly been going down in grade from A6 to A8.

5 BONVILLE MEGAN 3.84 25.18 last 10 runs all in A8 grade, beat Muppet last time out.

Although traps 1 & 2 have sectional times of 3.86, they usually clock around the 3.90 mark which is why I am a bit concerned about Muppet being on their outside, trap 5 virtually lead all the way last time out when beating Muppet by 3 1/2L, but will not lead this time.

I am expecting a 4 - 6 - 1 Trio but if Muppet can get around the first bend without any trouble, I would expect her to be in the first three home, so fingers crossed.

I have just noticed that the Racing post have tipped Muppet to win, with traps 1 & 2 finishing 2nd & 3rd

Trap 4 is a non runner and has been replaced with Archies Joy 3.71 25.23 clocked its best time when winning its one race from 12 starts in A8 company at 6/4Fav. the form for its last 5 races reads 4th, 5th, 6th, 6th, 6th, should lead Muppet and the slower dogs but will be coming back to the field in the closing stages. My Trio will now be 1 - 6 - 3 Trap 5 could have a chance if getting a clear run and an early lead again.

Muppet was last away but ran on well to finish 2nd, beaten 3 1/2L to trap 5, who lead all the way. She showed good pace down the back straight but I still believe she is chasing the leading greyhound and not the hare. It will be nice to see her over 6 bends.

At last my PC is up and running again, I was unable to upload to the web sit or even send E mails as they just kept being sent back.

So to start with, I would like to wish everyone a very late HAPPY XMAS & NEW YEAR, better late that never, lol.

Now for news on Muppet. She has had a few trials during December and January, and last Tuesday she managed to grade back onto the card.

As usual, in her last trial, she was last away but run on to finish 2nd, beaten a short head and clocked a time of 25.09 on a track rated 20 fast, giving her a time of 25.29. The grading time is 25.40 and 25.50 for pups ( that's a Greyhound under 2 years of age )

I watched the trial and was pleased with the effort she put in to catch up with the leaders, but once again, as soon as she got level with the leading greyhound she eased off and had a slight look at the dog on her inside, instead of chasing the hare in front of her.

If she is ever going to win a race, she is going to have to be in the lead going down the back straight, like she did in a trial once.

Muppet is on the card for this Wednesday, she is in the first race due off at 7.30pm and running from trap 3.

I have had a very quick look at the other runners and traps 5 and 6 look to have a fair chance, trap 2 on Muppets inside has the comments, rails to middle on some of its previous races, which is not good news for Muppet as she goes middle to rails, which could mean they will just be bumping each other all the way to the first bend, that's if they broke level.

Romford Stadium have decided to race on Tuesdays now until Xmas so there will be no more trials on a Tuesday until the new year, there will be one 3 dog trial per trainer before racing on three nights of the week.

Muppet had a trial on Wednesday night and finished 2nd beaten by 7 lengths, she clocked 25.39 which is 1 spot inside the grading time but the going was estimated 20 fast, so she needs to find another 19 spots next time.

It wasn't a bad run considering she has been off for 9 weeks, but not sure when she will get another trial.

The latest news on Muppet is that she had a gallop last week and came off ok, so she could of had a trial on Tuesday morning but due to the SKY meeting that was on that night the trials were cancelled.

Some dogs were booked in for trials before racing on Wednesday night, but the meeting was cancelled due to a frozen track.

So hopefully she will get a trial this Tuesday coming with about 200 other dogs, lol.

At the moment I have a stinking horrible cold and I hate the winter, its so depressing, but at least we have some central heating this year, good old Basildon Council, I expect they will want to increase my rent again now lol. Roll On Spring.

No trial for Muppet today, as she has come off lame after her race on Monday night.

Jim said that Muppet has a muscle injury at the top of her hind leg on the inside, which is hardly surprising as she did do the splits at the first bend when the 2 dog ran over the top of her.

He didn't say how long she would be off for but I would imagine it will be 3 to 4 weeks before she has a gallop and even longer if its a torn muscle.

Muppet was only a 3/1 chance for Monday nights race and not the 8/1 I was hoping for, lol,

In the race Muppet trapped well and clocked her best sectional time to date ( 3.91 ), going into the first bend she was in a very promising position, She had managed to lead up trap 2 by the time they reached the first bend and was level with trap 1, with trap 4 taking the early lead running middle.

As they took the first bend, Muppet as usual darted for the rails cutting across T2 forcing it to check up slightly and go middle. which was fine until she hit the 1 dog on her inside at full speed, and then bounced off it right into the path of T2, who couldn't possibly get out of her way and ran right over the back of her and that was race over as far as Muppet was concerned.

Muppet seemed to run ok after the incident and didn't look lame but I won't know for sure until I have been to the kennels on Sunday, but it certainly could of been a lot worse.

After the race the trainer came over to me and said that he is going to give Muppet a trial over 575m on Tuesday morning because he believes she was still up to her old tricks along the home straight, although Muppet and the 2 dog were so far behind at that point and the bunny was a long long way off.

Jim said that Muppet really dose need to get her head in front in a race to see the best of her, like she did in the trial that she won a few weeks back, and that over 4 bends it's difficult to see her doing that if she is going to keep finding trouble at the first bend.

So if she hasn't gone lame, it's a 575m trial for Muppet on Tuesday and with a bit of luck she will get one more race before the month is through.

We all went to walk Muppet this morning, and apart from a small bite on her side, that has almost completely healed up, it's the best I have seen her look since we bought her, and because I believe that she is capable of doing much better than we have seen so far, I will be having my last £10 on her to win, hopefully she will be a nice 8/1 shot.

Obviously she is going to have to do it the hard way ( just like Sid used too ) as it's odds on that she will be last at the first bend but she dose show a nice bit of middle pace down the back straight and if getting a clear run with some of the other runners finding a bit of trouble for a change, then perhaps she will clock the 24.80 that I believe will be needed to win this race.

After walking Muppet, Laura and I went to Chris's kennels as Laura wanted to walk Sids old kennel mate, and while we were there I saw a lovely looking black pup that apparently is still for sale, it's nine months old and weighs 30 Kilos out of Droopys vieri ? I think, or Droopys something, If only I was a little bit better off financially, and I would of bought it today, maybe I will try and get a syndicate together, I will certainly be keeping my eye on it's progress anyway.

I have just checked the runners sheet for Monday and Muppet is in the 2nd race due off at 6.56pm, and again it will be live in the betting shops.

I just happened to notice that the dog who bumped Muppet at the first bend last time out is again on her inside only this time right beside her in trap 2.

1 VALID POINT David Mullins 3.88 25.03 + 10 Has won in A7 races but it's last 3 races in A8's has not been clocking the best of times.

2 SISNEMESIS ZETA Margaret Lucas 3.94 25.19 N Three runs and two 6th and a 5th since returning from season and very slow times but does find trouble.

3 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 3.98 25.00 + 30 No wins from 6 starts, lets hope she misses the trouble this time

4 SEACREST RUN Alison Ingram 3.83 25.60 - 10 No wins from 6 starts and getting beaten a long way but it's first race was an A6 then 4 A7's and last time out an A8 where it finished last. In a trial on the 30th July it clocked 25.01 and won by over 11 lengths so something somewhere is not right, it does keep finding trouble but if it leads up who knows what it could do, so one to keep an eye on.

5 ABBEYFEALE ROSY (W) Alison Ingram 3.72 25.25 N Almost sure to lead up but will it be able to hold on

6 ASK DONT TELL (W) Paul Young 3.84 24.89 + 10 Clocks 24.89 in an A7 less than 3 weeks ago and should never of been put in this race with these strugglers.

What a race to try and fathom, on paper traps 2 and 3 haven't got a hope in hell, trap 5 should lead and then weaken trap 6 should be the racing post NAP of the night, trap 4 could do almost anything and trap 1 should lead traps 2 and 3 to the bend and then have a nice solo all the way round on the rails.

My trio will be 6 - 1 - 5 Thanks a lot to who ever put this race together, I expect Muppet to Finnish 5th.

Muppet trapped well on Monday and at the first bend she was in 3rd position, trap 5 had about a 2 length lead over traps 1 in 2nd position, with Muppet 1/2 length behind that and I was just thinking to myself that with her middle pace she should easily move into 2nd position down the back straight when all of a sudden trap 1 moved off the rails giving Muppet a bump, then trap 4 went for the gap that had suddenly appeared between trap 1 and Muppet and in the process trap 4 also gave Muppet a bump and then she went from a promising position at the first bend to stone bonkers last at the 2nd bend.

Surprisingly Trap 5 who lead and faded to 4th place last week stayed the trip well this time to win by 2 1/2 Lengths.

Muppet tried hard to get back to the field and eventually finished last beaten by 6 1/2 Lengths although there was not much between the last 3 home.

After the line as Muppet was passing the weakening dogs on her way to the pick up she didn't seem to show any signs of wanting to have a look or hang around with the other greyhounds.

So it's fingers crossed that she gets better luck in running next time and hopefully she will be on the card again on Monday.

I am not going to put the video of the race on here this time as for most of the race after the first bend she was off camera and was not seen again until coming off the last bend.

Muppet is on the card again this Monday and it will be one of the races being screened live in the betting shops.

1 SISNEMESIS ZETA Margaret Lucas 3.94 25.17 + 30 Two runs and two 6th since returning from season and very slow times but did find trouble.

2 RECTIFY David Mullins 3.94 25.11 + 10 Run well last time out when second in Muppets race.

3 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 4.02 25.00 + 30 Lets hope she doesn't mess about this time.

4 BENEDETTI Peter Payne 4.07 25.47 + 10 Ex Stow dog with just the one run at Romford so far.

5 MAMS LADY (W) Margaret Lucas 3.77 25.33 N Should lead again but will it fade again around the last two bends.

6 MALDEN BREEZE (W) Paul Young 3.83 25.14 + 20 Will lead Muppet by 2L on sectional time and will not get a much easier race than this.

Trap 5 should lead early followed round by trap 6 and if Muppet gets a clear run to the first bend, then at worst she will be level with trap 2, then hopefully she will pass trap 2 down the back straight and catch up with the weakening trap 5 rounding the last two bends, then it will be a matter of whether she is good enough to catch and genuine enough to go past trap 6 on the home straight. and at the moment I don't think she is.

Here is the link to Muppets 5th race on October 1st she is running from T3 CLICK HERE

After Muppets race last night, I am still not sure that she has been completely cured of her hanging around larks.

For 3/4 of the race I was more than happy with the effort she put in, but as she approached the winning line and was challenging T1 on her inside for 2nd place, I am sure her eyes were looking at the 1 dog and not the bunny, although Muppet didn't turn her head this time.

So this is how the race went. Trap 6 lead trap 2 to the first bend and Muppet was in last place after trap 4, who is supposed to be a middle to wide runner turned, left out the boxes and went across Muppet and took her ground.

As they went around the first 2 bends, T6 run wide which enabled T2 to take the lead, Muppet, as usual went to the rails and was in last position stuck behind the 1 dog ( which is exactly what I didn't want to happen ) and Muppet was forced to check up behind it on the 2nd bend.

Muppet showed good pace down the back straight and as they rounding the third bend T2 still had the lead and T6 was beginning to weaken and Muppet now in 4th position, again had to check up slightly behind the 1 dog, so far so good.

Entering the home straight T2 was about 2 lengths ahead of T1 with Muppet just behind in 3rd.

Now this is were I am going to give Muppet the benefit of the doubt. As Muppet started to catch up with trap 1 on her inside and got within about 3/4 a length from it, she looked like she eased up a bit, but when this happened, trap 1 was weakening and was drifting away from the rails and was almost touching Muppet who was running middle, had there been more of a gap between the two runners maybe Muppet would of kept going stronger.

After the race, Jim said that for a moment it looked like Muppet was thinking about having a look but with the 1 dog drifting off the rails in towards Muppet, she is worth another chance and that there are a couple things he will try with Muppet before her next race.

We both watched the video replay and it didn't look as bad on there as it did from the stands, I will put the video on here tomorrow when I have got the money to pay for it and you can make your own minds up.

Muppet is in the first race at Romford on Wednesday night, due off at 7.30pm. She will be running from trap 3 and should be in with a bit of a chance if she can improve a little ( about 20 spots ) in order to beat the 2 dog, which could lead all the way.

1 RECTIFY David Mullins 3.94 25.11 + 10 Clocked that time when 2nd, 1L to Muppets litter sister Donnas Angel, she was also in Muppets last race when finishing 5th beaten 3L but was badly checked at the first bend, also it rarely gets under the 4.00 sectional time. and no wins from 13 races.

2 BERSHEDA QUEEN Alison Ingram 3.80 24.80 + 30 Got the early to lead but is yet to win after 9 starts, 3 times she has just failed to hold on getting beaten by a sh/hd, 1/4L and 1/4L but has a good chance in this race to get her first win.

3 MAXIES MUPPET Jim Reynolds 4.02 25.00 + 30 Just over 10 weeks since her last race, we all look forward to seeing what Muppet will do this time, fingers crossed that she goes as well as she did in her trial.

4 COMPLIANCE SPARK Paul Young 3.86 25.69 + 10 Has only had 3 races to date, could possibly lead Muppet but will have to improve considerably on it best time in order to win this.

5 ROOF US (W) Paul Young 3.86 24.95 + 10 An old boy who is nearly 5 years of age but is still capable of winning races in this sort of grade

6 MAMS LADY (W) Margaret Lucas 3.97 25.41 + 10 That was a good time for her very first race as she is now over 2 years old but I believe she is returning from season, so will probably improve quite a lot on that run, one to keep your eye on.

I have a feeling that trap 2 will lead from the traps, and for Muppet to have a chance to be up there with them at the finish, she will need to get to the first bend ahead of trap one. then going down the back straight she would only have traps 4,5 and 6 on her outside who are middle to wide and wide runners, I don't think there will be much chance of Muppet running into the back of the leader at the paddock bend this time, but I will be hoping that she is a long way in front of it by the time they get to the pick up, as the 2 dog will be fading on the home straight.

Last night I was told that we will only be getting paid for 6 hours work on Wednesday and that we will have to make our hours up by working another 4 hours on Friday or Saturday night, well they know what they can do with that. When I worked at Fords Motor Company, the union there would of gone mad if they tried that one on. You got a contract for the days that you work and if for no fault of yours they have to close their factory, then they would have to pay you, and they would never be able to make you work days that you are not contracted to work in order to make up your hours.

Oh well, Muppet is not on the card for Monday, so obviously she will not get a race now until October, so there will be no run money to come off Septembers bill, which helps me out no end.

If she runs on Wednesday night, it will be an early race, which usually would be fine as I could go to watch the race and then shoot off to work, but this Wednesday I have been told that I have to work 4pm to 10pm because the shop is having a refit and we will not be able to get in the building after 10pm for two days.

So I either work 6 hours on Wednesday and get paid for 10 plus the night supplement or have the time off without pay, which I can not really afford to do.

For the first time ever, Muppet went past the leading greyhound, which is something she has never done before, not even after the line up to the pick up, but today she took the lead down the back straight and went on to win her trial by 3 1/2 lengths. I will continue this update When I get home from work in the morning, but fingers crossed she should be on the card very soon.

We all went to watch the trial and were a bit apprehensive about what she would do, but when the traps opened Muppet was the first one out and as they raced towards the first bend, all three dog were virtually in a line, Muppet was running from trap 6 but did move to the middle of the track as soon as she come out of the boxes.

As they approached the first bend it was obvious that there was going to be some bumping and barging, as they all wanted to get nearer to the rails. As they came off the second bend Muppet was about half a length behind trap 4 and on it's outside, as they went down the back straight Muppet draw alongside trap 4 and for a short while I thought she was not going to go past and then all of a sudden she took the lead and managed to pull away and win by 3 1/2L.

Now, the dogs in Muppets trial were not the fastest in the world and their previous trial times of 25.80 meant that it was odds on that Muppet should beat them quite easily, once again Muppets sectional time was 4.00 and her win time was 25 34 which is just about half a length faster than her solo last week, but she did hit a little bit trouble on the first bend this time.

So all in all it was a good run by Muppet, with no hanging around in the trial, so lets hope she can do the same thing in her races.

Whilst walking Muppet this morning I noticed that she seemed to be showing more signs of awareness of what was going on around her.

Sue said that Muppet will be having a mixed trial on Tuesday, ( lets hope it's an early one, as I will be wanting to go to bed ) and so long as everything goes ok and she doesn't muck about, than Muppet should be having a race before the end of the month if we are lucky.

I saw Maries courtney today, that's the pup that broke his hock and I must say he is looking very well in him self, although I am not too sure when he will begin his preparation to come back, but not for a while I should imagine.

Muppet must of lost at least 2 Kilos in weight while she was in Ireland, as her weight today ( 26.1 ) for her trial was still 1½ Kilos below her racing weight of 27.5, and that's after a week back at Jims kennels.

Her sectional time has not improved, as she clocks 4.00 sec as usual, but I didn't see the trial and she may have missed her break.

The best news is that she clocked a grading time of 25.40 which is only 10 spots off her best trial time to date and was only 5 spots slower than her litter brother, Bowmers Sugs, who had previously beaten her in a trial by nearly 6 lengths.

So all in all we are very happy with that run, but we still do not know what she will do when running with other dogs, will she get on with it or will she hang about, watch this space, lol

It's a lovely sunny morning, so off we go to walk Muppet. All the way there I am saying to myself, I hope she's not in season, oh I hope she's not in season, I just want to see her pass something, then she can come in season, then the kids in the back of the car shout, why don't you shut up about her season, so to wind them up I said, yes ok sorry, but I hope she's not in season, lol.

And on arrival at the kennels the first thing my friend Dave said to me was, she's in season, oh poop, yes he said, she's a nine monthly bitch, I thought, what are you on about, it's her first one, then I realised he was talking about his bitch, Fourteen Blue, and I thought to myself, oh you plonker, but I kept that to myself as I didn't want to offend him.

Then Jim came out of his office so I quickly asked him, how's my bitch, is she in season, and he said no, she has dried up so we have put her in with a dog, Oh good I said, that means she can have a trial on Tuesday then, and he said yes I will book her a trial for Tuesday, and then just as he was about to vanish back in to his office ( was it something I said, lol ) I shouted will it be a mixed trial, he said no, I will give her a solo first as I think she will struggle to grade back in and will need more than one trial, oh I said, she want pass nothing in a solo, and that was that.

Personally I don't think she will have any trouble grading in at all if she is chasing the bunny now, as I believe she is well capable of clocking 25.00 if she gets on with the job in hand.

So it's a solo trial for Muppet on Tuesday, if she does do a grading time than I will be asking Jim to stick her on the card because if she is going to hang around and have another look, she might as well get paid some run money to go towards her bill.

And well done Foxy, another win over 575m last night, keep it up and she could win the Bitch of the month for September.

Muppet returned from Ireland last week and has lost some weight, but looks better than I was expecting.

Unfortunately on her return to the kennel, she was showing signs of coming into season, although on Sunday when we walked her the sign had all but disappeared, so we are hoping that it is a false season and that it was down to the stress of traveling.

We will find out more this Sunday when we go to walk her and if it turned out to be a false season, then she will have a trial the following Tuesday.

Will He Rumble ( Dog ) Broke his front leg and was put to sleep after just 4 races.

Maries Courtney ( Dog ) Broke his hock and will be off for a long time, but hopefully will make a return to racing next year.

Bowmers Sugs ( Dog ) One win from 9, Just returning from lameness and had a trial last week.

High Flyer Jays ( Dog ) After 2 runs he was sent to Ireland for re schooling, on his return he had a few trials and has gone lame.

Tesstastic ( Bitch ) After 12 runs and 2 wins, she has worked her way up the grades from A8 to A6, and has been the Favourit in no fewer than 11 of the 12 races she was in. But off lame at the moment.

Orchard Foxy ( Bitch ) Took some time to win her first race and has now been stepped up to 6 bends, after 3 runs over 575m she has finished 2nd, 1st and 1st.

Donnas Angel ( Bitch ) One win from 7 starts, got knocked about a bit last time out but is on the card tomorrow I think.

Maxies Muppet ( Bitch ) Had 4 runs, but had a look in her last race and was sent to Ireland for re schooling.

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.