Personality Profile - Eddie & Maureen Jones

To win a big race is the dream of most owners. Who doesn't visit their 10 month old pup and imaging clearing the mantlepeice ready for the silverware to come. Realistically though most owners have a 'pride and joy' that will win some graded races at their local track. Once in a while even the lowliest grader will pick up a prize, perhaps a small memento from a sponsored graded race to fill up that rather large gap on the mantlepeice. But whether it is a small 'silver' picture frame or a very mini statuette, they are as cherished as the biggest cup.

But imagine for a minute owning greyhounds widely recognised as among the best of a generation and scooping the William Hill Prestige (twice with two different dogs!) the William Hill Cesarwitch, the Modland St Leger and have a dog reach the semi finals of the Holy Grail of greyhound racing... the William Hill Greyhound Derby?

Maxie Rumble

Eddie and Maureen Jones are a couple from Essex that have done all that... and much more. Eddie a retail butcher by trade well and truly got the greyhound bug more than 20 years ago.

He said: "We had been invited along by a business associate to go racing and have a meal at Romford Stadium. Maureen and we both loved it and agreed it would be great to have a dog and get more involved. I went to the next Sunday morning sales at Hackney on a really frosty morning. I didn't have a clue what I was doing - but just watched some other people and when the greyhounds trailed marked out those that looked ok to me but I didn't have any idea at all. When they brought them out for inspection I just copied what everyone else was doing and ran my hands over the dog. Anyway I found a bitch I liked and brought her for 800 guineas.


Over the years they had some of minor open race success but things really took off for the Jones's when they bred from a little bitch called Minnies Sparkler (racing name Sparky Cracker), trained by David Mullins. The plan was to have the pups at home in Hornchurch and to rear them there. Two brindle pups duly arrived in January 2001 from the now prolific sire and staying stalwart Smooth Rumble.

Eddie says: "We called them Maxie Rumble and Keltie Sparkler (see a young Keltie and Eddie at home in our Gallery section!) and they were installed in our back garden. But within weeks they had got myself and Maureen sussed. they would be howling at the back door, wanting to come in, day and night. It was just impossible."

"I called Dave (Mullins) and asked him if he could take the pups in. But he said his kennel was full up, and suggested we take them to his mum Linda (Mullins - and former Champion Trainer for many years before retirement) and his brother John. And that's where they stayed!"

The rest for anyone following the open race scene is some memorable races and in Maxie Rumble one of the best dogs in recent years and the BGRB Stayer of the Year 2003 - indeed Maxie narrowly missed out on the coverted Greyhound of the Year accolade to the sprinting machine Tims Crow.

Eddie said: "We have so many cups and trophies, our house is jam packed with them. Winning is great but greyhound racing is so much more for us. We love racing and meeting all sorts of people. We go most often to Walthamstow and tend to sit in the same part of the restaurant and know most of the other owners so really the dogs are our social life and the track is like our local.


'The couple even plan their holidays around their 'pet' Amber Sparkle who retired early due to injury. "We don't like putting her in boarding kennels when we go away", said Eddie. "She is having her first litter so while she is whelping with John Mullins we will be off and back in time for her return!"

So who knows what the future might bring. Maxie Rumbles took them to the semi-finals of the Derby, Amber Sparkle progeny might go one better...