Betfair Big Interview: Barrie Draper

General / Ralph Ellis / 27 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

The Boherna Best trainer talks to Ralph Ellis about the state of the sport, training winners and his potential Greyhound of the Year.

This week Betfair's Big Interview has gone to the dogs - or the hounds to be precise! We went to meet Barrie Draper, trainer of Boherna Best who is [2.12] favourite to be named Greyhound of the Year, at his kennels near Sheffield.

Hi Barrie, we've met Boherna Best barking at us out in the yard, so tell us a bit about him...

Well he's had 18 races and finished first in 14 of them, been unplaced only once and on the computer, if you know what I mean, he's right up there. He's won three category one races - that's our best ones after the derby - and has given us a really exciting season

He's still a very young dog, though, isn't he?

That's right, he was only two in August, and actually as a rule it's like young men trying to get in with old men. At first normally the younger dogs seem to take time when they come out of puppy stage to get into the stakes, but this one's an absolute exception, he's took to it straight away, a strong type of dog.

So he's a greyhound equivalent of Theo Walcott?

Well yes - although I would say Wayne Rooney, depends where in the country you come from, doesn't it!

You make the comparison with Rooney where everybody knew at 11 or 12 he was going to be sensational. How soon do you know a young dog is going to be special?

Straight away, it's exactly the same. You do. Champions are not made they are born, you can't make them into anything, they have to have natural ability. You try to breed for that of course, and Boherna Best is superbly bred, but it's still in the lap of the gods. It's not an exact science. I didn't breed him, he was bred in Ireland. His brother was Barnfield on Air (pictured) who was a bit of a superstar 12 months ago. He's a repeat mating of Pacific Mile and Always on Air and it's a rarity for a repeat to be so successful. As a rule repeats don't usually come out so well - the first one is normally the quickest - but in this case I would say they are about on par

Tell us about his personality - all dogs have them don't they?

His kennel name is Georgie after Georgie Best - and he lives up to it in every way, and not just because he's so talented at his sport, I can tell you. He's a character in the kennels, he's an escape artist, he's looking to escape all the time. On a lead he has a mind of his own and wants to go where he wants to, and not where I want him to go. He's a bit of a wayward boy like the original Georgie!

How many dogs have you got here?

We've got 45 now, which in some kennels would not be considered big, but it is by my standards. Some trainers might have 150 dogs. My aim is to have more quality, and of course we can breed puppies here too. We're fourth or fifth in the trainers championship which is not bad for our strength of dogs, Boherna Best might be the reason we're up there.

So how did you get into greyhound training in the first place?

It was very much a family thing, my dad and mum had dogs when I was a kiddy and my brother Trevor and I just went along and got bit by the bug. That was it. It's just our way of life. It's not a hobby it's our livelihood, and it's what I've always done and I wouldn't want to change a thing. I enjoy the training - fetching the young dogs through and seeing them develop and improve. It's just the thrill of taking part and taking on other trainers and owners. It's good craic.

We gather this used to be a poultry farm - there's no chickens about now...

We've been in here 25 years now. At first I was too young to take a licence out and my elder brother Trevor had the licence, but when I got to about 23 or 24 we changed over. It's home for my dad too who is always a big help for passing on knowledge. We just try to improve the facilities and the way we look after and train the dogs every year.

Is Boherna Best the best dog you've had in that time?

He'd be up there, although I wouldn't necessarily say he's the best - we once had one that was second in the derby, and I always had him down as my fastest ever dog, but you can't compare them from different times. It's like boxers - is Ricky Hatton a better fighter than Nigel Benn, say? You just don't know. Tracks change, circumstances change. You can't say one is a better dog than another - Boherna Best is a good dog and he's here now and I'm really pleased I'm training him

How do you see the future of the sport?

BAGS racing has its pros and cons. It's keeping tracks open but it is keeping the overall standard lower. I think we should try and improve the racing throughout the sport so as to have quality rather than quantity. That's the biggest issue in my view. People come to watch quality dogs, and don't want to watch bad dogs, or more particularly don't want to bet on bad dogs.

How would you go about changing all that then?

How long have you got - we'd need a lifetime to discuss that! The sport's not in a good state at the moment, but the country isn't either. People's hobbies are the first thing that go. Everybody has to pay their mortgages and electric bills, and dog trainers are a long way down the priorities. I'm lucky because I've got some very strong owners and they support me well. We've got some good dogs and hope to have some better ones.

Thanks for your time and we've a free £50 bet for a charity of your choice...

I support anything to do with children so I'll choose Great Ormond Street hospital as my charity. And I'll go for something that I think is a certainty - Manchester United to win the Premier League at their current price of [4.1]. I'm not a United fan as such, but I am a fan of good football and I love watching them when they are at their best. A good game is a good game as far as I'm concerned.