Lister set to enter the Ninja for all big events

NINJA JAMIE, record-breaking winner of the £20,000 Betfair East Anglian Derby over 462m at Yarmouth on Tuesday, is likely to be kept on the go in the coming months with further Category One titles on his radar.

The Charlie Lister-trained dog clipped nine spots off the previous best for the distance, recorded by kennelmate and litter-brother Farloe Reason in the first round, when demolishing his rivals by more than eight lengths in 27.40sec, and his handler admitted the victory was the sweetest of his now-record nine East Anglian Derby victories.

“I’ve always thought that he was special,” said Lister of the March 2006 whelp, who is owned by the Coveneys, Terry and Elaine, and the Bowmers, Geoff and Sharon, “and I’m very pleased for his connections because they’re nice people.

“Ninja Jamie hasn’t really had the best of luck throughout his career, but it hasn’t always been his fault. I think we messed up in the [Blue Square] Derby when we seeded him middle rather than rails because he ended up in trap six and got knocked out.

“You only have to look at what he did afterwards there when he twice easily beat Owen McKenna’s dog [Advantage Johnny] who got to the Irish Derby final to realise what he’s capable of, and of course he won the Derby Plate and another little competition at Monmore.

“He’s done good runs before, but to break the track record on a wet night like Tuesday when it wasn’t getting any faster was exceptional.”
Lister played down suggestions that his famed ability for ‘getting them out’ when it matters most had led to Ninja Jamie making easily his best break of the competition in the final – his sectional was 12 spots faster than in any other round.

“There’s no magic trick,” he chuckled. “Ninja Jamie used to be a good starter when he set out, but justbecame more inconsistent. He got it right this time.”

The first prize of £20,000, the joint-fourth biggest in UK greyhound racing and up from £12,000 in 2007 under the first-year sponsorship of Betfair, also drew praise from Lister.

“Of course the prize-money is tremendous, but I’d also like to personally thank Betfair for the whole way they go about their sponsorships. What with this and the Trainers’ Championship, you are really made to feel special.

“They had a box where all the connections were looked after and it added enormously to our enjoyment of the night.”

With Ninja Jamie having been relatively lightly raced this year, he is likely to be kept on the go. “There are some competitions coming up which should suit him like the [William Hill] All England Cup at Newcastle and [Betfred] Eclipse at Nottingham, so we’ll see how he is nearer the time, but I’d imagine he’d go for one or both of those.”

Lister was also on the mark on the undercard with Perrys Corleone, a dog he thinks is still improving. “The owners had him from a pup and brought him to me,” he added. “He’s always had great early pace but seems to be getting that bit stronger now and I thought he ran pretty well.”

The other record-breaker on Tuesday was the Jenny White-trained Boherduff Monti, who lowered his own 277m mark, set just last week, when taking the sprint open in 16.34sec.