Caption: ‘On-course photographer Steve Whalland captured the moment perfectly as 27 years of hopes and dreams had come true in less than two minutes from the time of the loading process to the end of proceedings.’
By DIMITY MAHER, The Greyhound Girl
HAVING watched thousands of races since my introduction to greyhound racing at the age of eight, one goal that always eluded me was handling a winner.
I study those handlers when I have the opportunity to see how they loaded each greyhound, from box one to eight, and in particular, focusing on how people handled different sized greyhounds and those with less-than-ideal manners.
I spent my teens catching and still do to this day, as it gives me as big a thrill as anything else, however I was determined to at least handle one winner before 2024.
For those who’ve followed my journey and who suffer the same illness, Crohn’s Disease affects more than the bowel, with crippling arthritic pain, affecting my legs, arms and wrists, meaning I’m not always able to control even the smallest and calmest chasers.
My wrist dislocates on a daily basis, which drove me away from handling for several years.
They say you can’t succeed in greyhound racing without a support system and without the love and encouragement from my partner and trainer, Shaun Flaherty, and my dad, Peter Maher, I would’ve never even contemplated the idea of boxing a greyhound.
Wednesday November 22, 2023 will be a day I’ll never, ever forget – walking out on a warm Wednesday afternoon at Ladbrokes Gardens with little pocket rocket Ritza Margo in hand.
I appeared calm on the outside but experienced the worst set of nerves I ever thought imaginable. Regular starter at the track, Kira Burnett, was sensational in supporting me verbally and standing behind me, acting as my guardian angel of sorts, in case I froze or “stuffed it up”, which was a definite possibility.
As she exclaimed “leads and collars off”, I could feel my heart almost pounding through my chest, as I walked Ritza Margo forward and placed her into the two alley. I really have no recollection of how I did, but I got her in, which was my main goal.
When the lids flew, she stepped well, prompting a massive sigh of relief from myself, and quickly found the front heading into the back straight.
Starter Kira quickly threw her arm around me, albeit much more confident in me getting the win, but it was an easy watch in the end, as Ritza Margo careered away by 8.25 lengths in a slick time of 22.68 for the 400m journey.
I’d always imagined the feeling of what handling a winner would be like and as everyone who puts the polish on a feature race winner commonly states, words cannot describe it.
I was shaking, emotional, teary and relieved, so much so I forgot I had to catch her and luckily I’ve still got a little bit of speed left in me as I bolted to the catching pen.
On-course photographer Steve Whalland captured the moment perfectly as 27 years of hopes and dreams had come true in less than two minutes from the time of the loading process to the end of proceedings.
For anyone who hasn’t experienced the elation of handling a winner, the best piece of advice I can give is, be patient.
I waited years and was lucky enough to break through with only my second handle, but I was ready to handle.
I didn’t push myself when I wasn’t feeling well just for the sake of it and I wanted to have the confidence and belief in myself and my dog.
Handle greyhounds in trials if you can. It certainly helped me get a feel for the loading process, how to load them in, even more specific things like how to pull the roller door of the boxes down.
If you’re nervous, tell the kennel staff. I couldn’t have done it without those who helped me through the entire process of getting the dog out of the race kennels, to the stir-up, completing a pre-race swab and more. I especially thank Jenny, Annie, Kelsie and Luke.
They’re there to help and love to do it and trust me, while it can be frustrating, it was certainly worth the wait!