Belle Vue based greyhound trainer Ian Aylward had a night to remember this past Friday evening, as he managed to secure both the Scurry Cup as well as the Pat McCombe Memorial Invitational. The evening got off to a successful start for Ian as 11/8 favourite Baliff Turbo pinned out of trap two in the 8:55pm to land the £500 purse in the Pat McCombe. Having won three open contests in August and September, Baliff has since been mixing it with the big boys in Yorkshire St Leger, and acquitted himself reasonably well. The two dog was always in command, and held off the challenge of Marmalady to score by a length and three quarters.
It was a different story in the Scurry, as Aylward’s Baliff Cairo was not particualrly well fancied at 7/1 but showed fantastic early pace to beat Liz McNair’s 7/4f Skate On by a length and a quarter in a time of 15.36. Getting out in front proved crucial, as there was trouble in behind and this allowed the black jacket to do his own thing and gift connections the first prize of £2,500.
Aylward said yesterday: “He was off for a couple of months with a bad injury before the Scurry and is just coming back to himself. I was delighted with the win as we’ve made a few finals this year when we didn’t get any luck, so we had a bit of a celebration last night. It might not carry as much prize-money as it once did but it is still a prestige event in the calendar.
“The plan now will be to go to Nottingham with him for the National Sprint.”
Ian Aylward has been involved in greyhound racing for a number of years, having taking out a training licence in 2001. Belle Vue became home for this talented handler in the January of 2006 and he hasn’t looked back since. It will be interesting to see how Scurry Cup winner Baliff Cairo now gets on in Nottingham’s National Sprint.
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