Ned set to return with a Monmore workout

WICKY NED, the 2024 Greyhound of the Year, gets back on track at Monmore on Saturday night as Jimmy Fenwick’s multiple big-race champion enjoys a sprint solo before racing.

A superb 2024 campaign was followed by an injury-hit 2025 as a series of issues limited the Neil McGregor-owned ace to just seven races. 

Despite that, his class still shone through as he won both Sheffield’s 3 Steps To Victory and a star-studded Select Stakes at Nottingham, while also running-up to subsequent Irish Derby hero Cheap Sandwiches in the Dundalk International.

Wicky Ned has not run since that Select Stakes triumph in August when leading home English Derby champion Droopys Plunge, but Fenwick said: “He’s in good shape but it’s just about bringing him back slowly. He was booked for a trial last week but we had a bit of kennel sickness and he got that.

“He’s fine to trial and the plan is to see how he goes, then bring him back next week for a 480m trial and then look at perhaps some one-off races”

The Newcastle handler brings a strong team down to Wolverhampton for the pre-racing session, with his Winter Derby hopefuls Elusivenomore, Zenith Tanju, Howay Tonali and Coppice Sapphire all having four-bend workouts, while recent All England Cup third Ballymac Lake is stepped up for a 630m solo.

“We’ve got a decent team for the Winter Derby,” Fenwick added. “And the likes of Elusivenomore and Zenith Tanju have been trialling really well. Howay Tonali is a really nice dog around Newcastle in A1 and opens and I want to see how he goes at another track.

“As for Ballymac Lake, when we got him we thought he might stay a bit further, so this is a chance to see how he stretches out over a sharp six-bend trip rather than anything else.

“We’re keeping our options open with him. But for a better draw he may have gone closer in that All England Cup final, albeit the Santas Amigo dog who won it is a fantastic greyhound for David Mullins.

“If Lake goes well then that opens up other options. He may well drop into the Winter Derby team, but further ahead then races like the 3 Steps could be a target.”

As the PGR Golden Jacket also draws close, Sean Parker’s Droopys Flare and Patrick Janssens’ Romeo Empire  are both set for solo spins over the full 684m competition course. Also trialling over the trip is John Flaherty’s stamina-laden Greenwell Gypsy, who has won her last two races – marathons at Newcastle and Sunderland  – by an aggregate of 16 lengths.

The £20,000 PGR Golden Jacket and £10,000 Ladbrokes Winter Derby close to entries on Wednesday, February 4, and start on Saturday, February 7.

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