Aspiring, young trainers are making a name for themselves around NSW at the moment and over the coming months, we will profile the best and brightest.
This week, we get to know a bit more about 2024 GRNSW Young Achiever of the Year, Jorja Howard.
When Did You Get Your Trainer’s License | 2021
How Did You Get Into The Sport | My parents [Rob and Natina] and both sets of grandparents - Ray and Cavel Leary and Cliff and Patsy Howard - were all involved in the sport and I always wanted to follow in their footsteps.
Dad started training dogs when he was about 18 and was always knocking around with John McDermott and his sister Sue and that’s when he started really getting into it. I just remember being his shadow and I was always out with the dogs before he asked.
Earliest Greyhound Memory | For as long as I can remember, we had greyhounds. The only time that stopped was when my older brothers were starting to get busy with their footy. Jesse and Matthew both made the Newcastle Knights junior program so dad decided to give up the dogs for a while to focus on the boys sport. They had games here, there and everywhere and dad was working night shift in the mines as well so it got a bit too much.
Dad actually had an angina attack (chest discomfort brought on by lack of oxygen to the heart) in his late 30’s and the doctors said it was brought on by stress and probably doing too much, so he got out of the dogs for a while.
After a few years away, we bought two three-month-old puppies from Mal and Helen Ross who had all the Jimary dogs and that got us back into it.
From there, we bought Zipper at 13-months-old off Tony Pearce and she started mum and dads line. I remember going along to pick her and she became my little bitch to look after.
She won 19 races and had some talent but Mum and dad ending up breeding from her and nearly all of their progeny since have come from Zipper. She goes back to the prominent Ray Watson 'Mint' line and nearly every good dog we've had since came from Zipper.
Jorja with Badger's Beast after his recent win in the Richmond Straight Cup
Trainers That Inspire You | Obviously my dad. He is very patient, that’s always stuck with me and he always made sure his dogs were 100% before he took them to the races. He always talked about the importance of straight track work as well, he said once they learn to get straight and balanced, they will get around corners better.
I work with Peter Lagogiane at the moment [Jorja helps train and prepare Lagogiane's team at his Llandilo property in Western Sydney] and he's always been a trainer I look up to. I liked his training style before I got here, it works for me and that's why we've worked out pretty well so far.
Obviously I admire Jason Thompson and Tony Brett from afar and they are great trainers too. I went up and saw Tom Tzouvelis’ operation during the winter carnival last year and he was great too. I stayed on his property for three or four weeks with Summer Quinn and Badger’s Beast when they were heading towards the Flying Amy and Straight Of Origin respectively.
Pete was down here in NSW during that stint so it was the first time I was sort of on my own with the dogs and Pete gave me the reigns to kind of do what I wanted...that was my first big test and it was a good experience that matured me more as a trainer. I came back with confidence to see things for myself as I was probably a bit too reliant on the opinion of others.
Most Memorable Result | I remember beating She’s A Pearl with Fast Reason at Wenty Park. I can't remember the significance of the race but I think She's A Pearl was trying to break a record of some kind. I remember Fast Reason was $21and they were head-to-head for a while and at the 500m boxes he just took off and it was a great thrill.
Favourite Win | My first Wenty Park winner with Doing Time back in 2021.
Best Part Of Greyhound Training | When any trainer gets to the track with a dog after all the hard work they put in behind the scenes. You watch these little pups grow up and go through the whole process of whelping, rearing, breaking and then trialling before racing. Most people see the dogs performing at the races but there's so much hard work going on, it’s a tough gig. So to finally get them to a race, that's the best part of the sport for me.
Dream Race to Win | A Melbourne Cup or an Easter Egg because they're prestigious races that have been around for a long time. The Million Dollar Chase is obviously pretty new and exciting but it doesn’t bother me that much about the prizemoney, it's more about the history of those iconic races. Only the good ones win a Melbourne Cup or Easter Egg and leave their mark on history.
Where Do You Do Your Racing | We fluctuate between Gosford, Richmond and Wenty Park. We have a lot of success at Gosford but Richmond is the home track where all our dogs are pre-trained and schooled. We’ve been trying to spread them out a bit more lately to keep the dogs minds ticking over.
Jorja with Magical Ang after her recent win in the heats of the National Futurity
Best Dog In The Kennel | From my little team, Blindspot has had a handful of starts and has been pretty luckless in races but he’s a very quick trial dog. I’ve got a new pup called Show Less which could be the best of my lot and he’s a son of Tiny Hands Johns.
As for Pete's team, Badger’s Beast is freakish. All he keeps doing is producing against younger dogs and even though he was a 50-50 chance to go in the straight cup series, his last trial sealed a spot and he went onto to win another feature.
Young Participants Panel Idea | I think it'd be a good idea to have an apprenticeship program/race series. Maybe GRNSW can connect with the top 10 trainers in the state and assign an under 25 trainer to each kennel for a few months. That’d be a good way to get a young trainer under the wing of an older trainer and it’d be a great way to open the eyes of the young participants. There could even be a race series at the end of it with a dog from each kennel.
Upcoming Runners (for the Lagogiane kennel) Great Chat in Race 9 @ Richmond, February 4 Shake Not Stir in Race 4 @ Richmond Straight, February 5
Shot Of Magic in Race 9 @ Richmond Straight, February 5
Messy Boy in Race 12 @ Richmond Straight, February 5
Mr. Nicko in Race 6 @ Wentworth Park, February 7
Magical Ang in Race 5 @ Wentworth Park, February 7
Summer Quinn in Race 8 @ Wentworth Park, February 7
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