Margaret Greer is not mobile enough these days to race anywhere but her local Richmond track but the 73-year-old trainer is enjoying one heck of a ride with Almost Time, who scored his sixth win in nine starts there on Wednesday.
Almost Time scored his fourth Richmond 330m win in a fortnight when he took out Wednesday's fourth and fifth grade event in 18.94, fastest time of the day.
The black dog will go around again in a similar grade at Richmond on Sunday, where he is due to exit box two in race 10.
"I don't usually back dogs up as much as I have done with Almost Time but he is only racing over 330m and he has been pulling up perfectly after each race,'' Greer said.
Greer and her partner, former long serving GBOTA treasurer and committeeman Glen Jones, raced Almost Time's dam Almost Magic for well known SA breeder-owner June Whyte.
Almost Magic whelped only one litter, sired by Dyna Double One in February, 2018, before passing away.
Almost Time's record, which stands at six wins and four seconds from a dozen starts, is testament to the patience of her connections.
"When he was first being educated Almost Time was not what you would call a tenacious chaser but the penny gradually dropped and he now shows good acceleration,'' Jones said.
"Margaret is training just three greyhounds but we have another seven retired racers on our property at Londonderry.''
Greer's best greyhound in recent years, Watta Whisper, won 48 of 104 starts between 2010 and 2012 but was trained by Ruth Matic.
Because Greer, a true animal lover, had so many retired greyhounds on her farm, there was no room in her kennels when Watta Whisper was ready to race so she had to hand the dog over to Matic at Canyonleigh.
Margaret Greer has been attending greyhound racing for 67 years, saying: "My father Len Greer was a greyhound trainer in the Riverina district and from when I was six years old I would tag along to watch his dogs racing at the Young and Cootamundra tracks.
"Back then children were not supposed to attend greyhound or harness race meetings but dad would put me under a blanket and sneak me into the course.
"At Young and Cootamundra trainers were able to park by the fence on the back straight and once dad had his dogs kennelled I would sit in the car and watch his greyhounds in action.''
As a 15-year-old Greer, a champion ten pin bowler, represented Australia and in an international tournament held in Singapore.
But her family background prevailed and in 1975 she paid $350 for her first greyhound, Romaro's Triumph.
Trained by Carol Murray, Romaro's Triumph won 22 races including the 1977 Tweed Heads Galaxy and a semi-final of the Harold Park Ladies Bracelet.
Highlight of Greer's career came when her front-running stayer Golden Ambition beat the champion Victorian stayer Bold Trease, who won a record four successive Sandown Cups, in the 1987 Toyota Cup at Melbourne's Olympic Park.
"The trophy for winning the race was a brand new Toyota car, but that was too small for transporting greyhounds so I managed to swap it over for a dog friendly panel van,'' Greer recalls.
BECAUSE of poor health, Margaret Greer cannot handle her greyhounds on race day, and this task is done by Bradley Barnes.
Bradley, a highly successful trainer in his own right, is the brother of Melinda Finn, co-trainer of champion stayers Blue Moon Rising, Poco Dorado and Veloce Nero, and Patricia Chaker, trainer of last week's Husqvarna Maitland Gold Cup winner Mottza.
The trio of siblings' mother Leonie Barnes, is certainly a great producer of greyhound trainers!
