In any lifetime, it’s hard to imagine a person who gave more to greyhound racing than Jimmy Jenkins.
The former Socceroo goalkeeper passed away, aged 96, last August and, on Tuesday, rising star Zipping Conway looks to have a mortgage on the inaugural Jimmy Jenkins Memorial over the 472m at Bulli.
“When I started here in 2013, Jimmy was 92, had worked at Bulli in many roles for close to 50 years yet was still highly active,” Bulli Manager Darren Hull said.
“I had only been here for a couple of days and Jimmy rang me up and asked if I was the new manager and that he was having a bit of trouble with the GBOTA and could he come over and speak to me about it.
"He said he was having a bit of trouble with the GBOTA and he wanted to chat about it.”
The ‘trouble’ was he was being paid to work but he wanted no part of that, he considered himself a volunteer.
“He ‘lost’ that battle but such was his love of the job and the people he considered family, he was prepared to work for free as he thought money was a bit tight," Hull added.
“Jimmy told me he was here when Bulli was formed. That came about after the Bowral Greyhound Club folded and handed in their licence in and Bulli got that licence.
“When Bulli first started, he said the lure was on the outside of the track like in England and Ireland and he considered there was a lot less interference when it was on the outside.
“He’d be the first one here on race night and the last to leave after helping lock up. Each week he’d jump in his car at midnight after the race meeting and drive home.”
Jimmy worked at Bulli until he was 96 and still going strong when, unfortunately, while visiting a neighbour (who wasn’t home) he fell down the steps there and broke a bone in his spine.
Amazingly, late at night, he crawled across the road back home to contact his daughter.”
Following the scratching of his sibling and kennelmate Zipping Kansas, it appears as though Zipping Conway is near unbeatable in the $10,000 to-the-winner final.
The unbeaten Zipping Conway registering 25.95 secs in his heat on May 25 and with his reliable box manners and brilliant speed, it's hard to see any of his rivals beating him tonight.
