Jimmy McGlinn, who bred his first greyhound litter in 1955, has hung up the lead and collar.
One of the true gentlemen of the sport, McGlinn, 87, has handed over the training of his two greyhounds, Mister Cowora and Ima Chevey, to his neighbour at Abermain, Darryl Wilson.
"I have been forced to hand in my driver's licence so without transport I can no longer train greyhounds,'' McGlinn said.
"Back in 1953 I was a plumber and while working for Gordon Pearsall, who had a plumbing business on the central coast, I was introduced to greyhounds.
"Gordon had a couple of greyhounds and we would often knock off work early so I could go with him to help trial his dogs at WYONG.''
Among the first winners McGlinn trained was Come On Pancho, who was owned by Balmain Tigers’ rugby league legend Norman "Latchem'' Robinson.
Robinson, a city, NSW and Australian selector, coach and administrator, brought with him to WYONG a young fullback named Keith Barnes.
"Come On Pancho won first up and although it was the only race he won, Latchem and his pals won a lot of money as WYONG had a strong betting ring in those days,'' McGlinn recalled.
Barnes, who captained Australia in 14 test matches between 1959 and 1966 and was nicknamed "Golden Boots'' for the accuracy of his goal-kicking - he scored 1519 points for Balmain alone - later acted as catcher when McGlinn's dog Willa Wontcha won a heat of the Group 1 Association Cup at Harold Park in 1981.
McGlinn also trained for Ray Johansson, a massive punter who did not want his dogs to race unless he had a minimum "bank'' of $5000 to place on them.
"He was a great bloke, a generous winner and a good loser, but the hardest part about training for Ray was that I might have one of his dogs flying and ready to win but would get a call from him telling me not to enter the greyhound anywhere,'' McGlinn recalled.
"Ray might say 'I lost $10,000 playing baccarat last night so I have no money to bet with', and I had to keep the dog in cotton wool for another week or two.
"Alternatively he might phone and tell me to nominate one of his team as soon as possible because he was cashed up.''
Mister Cowora has won nine of 28 starts while Ima Chevey has won six from 21 races but their advancing age makes it hard to predict their futures on the track.
Bob's Uncle, who won his maiden over 400m at Maitland in February, 2016 in a sensational 22.28sec and won six of eight races for McGlinn, has broken down and is finished as a racing proposition.
Darryl Wilson and McGlinn's close friend Bob "Chook'' McColm, trainer of middle distance champion Mr Shire, both rank McGlinn "a wizard'' at checking for and rectifying muscle injuries on greyhounds.
xxxx
Techno, who won 14 races for leading Sydney trainer Dean Swain, is now campaigning in the Northern Territory with the Group 3 Ladbrokes DARWIN Cup his mission.
Now trained by Steve Withers at Casuarina, 14km from DARWIN, Techno defeated Del Rey, trained by Queenslander Tom Tzouvelis, in a first-up win over the 537m Cup course.
Techno, who is owned by the Punters HQ Syndicate, headed by Sydney-based Joe Lannutti, was then unplaced behind Del Rey in the Chief Minister's Cup over the same trip last Sunday.
Heats of the DARWIN Cup will be held on Sunday at the Winnellie Park course with the $25,000 to the winner final a week later.
xxxx
Flying Ella is a member of one of the most outstanding litters of recent years and while she has not yet matched the deeds of some of her siblings she is set to shine at Maitland on Thursday.
Trained by her breeder Ian Rose, Flying Ella has box one in a 400m fifth grade and should take her record to six wins from 14 starts.
Already a sizzling 22.22sec winner at Maitland, Flying Ella, who has not yet raced in the city, is coming off a blistering near record 21.54sec win over 384m at Wauchope.
Her dam Ella Lezah won just one of 14 starts but her progeny includes Wentworth Park top grader Sky Wave (pictured), the winner of 17 from 28 starts, Elusive Wave (10 from 29), Ella Enchanted, who has won in sensational times of 29.48 and 29.64 at Wentworth Park and Djay Dynamix, winner of four from nine New Zealand outings.
