Mark Wallis wins three Category One finals in less than hour thanks to New Destiny, Garfiney Blaze and Proper Heiress

As a 14-time Greyhound Trainer of the Year, Mark Wallis probably felt like he had seen everything that the sport had to offer.

But on Saturday evening the Lakenheath-based handler broke new ground when three of his team recorded Category One wins in less than an hour.

Wallis was stationed at Oxford, where New Destiny overcame the impressive Queen Georgia in the 7.51pm bet365 Challenge Cup final to land Imperial Kennels a 100th victory at the highest level.

And the country’s leading trainer was then glued to his phone to watch Garfiney Blaze (8.07pm) and Proper Heiress (8.41pm) come up trumps in the finals of the George Curtis & Ballyregan Bob Memorial and the Coral Olympic respectively at Hove, where Wallis’ children, Daniel and Emily, were on hand to oversee the glory.

Wallis said: “It was an exceptional hour of racing and it’s brilliant to have won all three.

“I’d been at Oxford all the way through and Daniel and Emily had been going to Hove, so we decided not to change it.

“New Destiny had a really awkward draw, but I went into it thinking all three had a good chance of winning.

“But winning Category One races is hard so if someone had offered me one win before the races, I’d have grabbed that with both hands.

“It’s the sort of achievement you think about in the days leading up to it, but you never truly believe it will actually happen.

“It’s a great effort from the whole team at Imperial Kennels. You don’t get those sort of results without a hard-working team.”

The hat-trick of wins provided further success for the MWD Partnership, which Wallis set up with Mike Davis in early 2023.

The pair joined forces with a ‘quality over quantity’ mindset – and Wallis believes that seven Category One triumphs this year is further vindication of the decision.

He added: “We set up the MWD Partnership nearly two years ago and I’ve been happy with it from the first minute.

“Mike and I decided to concentrate on quality over quantity and it’s nights like Saturday when it pays off.

“We wanted to set high standards in a number of areas – welfare, staff, conditions and we’re looking to redevelop the kennels into a state-of-the-art facility. The sport has gone through some tough times in recent years with track closures but we’re looking to be positive and hopefully set some standards for others to follow.

“We’ve got a great team and we’re challenging at the top end of the sport, which is what Mike and I wanted to do.”