Dog tired

Regular readers have been asking for an update on the progress of the greyhound. The good news is that he was due to run last night at Harold's Cross. The bad news is that deadlines prevent me from reporting whether he has at last won his first race for the syndicate.

Regardless of the outcome, it was an auspicious occasion to be running at Harold's Cross because last night was the final meeting before the stadium undergoes a major facelift; financed - as reported in this paper's commercial property supplement on Wednesday - by the sale of adjoining lands, with planning permission for 81 semi- and fully-detached houses. As the report pointed out, the stadium is set to make a "killing" from the deal, because the stadium is situated in the centre of a "mature, middle-class area". A poignant thought, given that greyhound racing is an activity not normally considered either mature or middle-class.

More poignantly, part of the proceeds will ensure improved accommodation for the dogs, perhaps including semi or fully-detached kennels, with wall-to-wall sawdust and views of the electric hare rounding the bend. On the downside, the development of the stadium will probably make it more comfortable for punters, attracting that soft office crowd you get in Shelbourne at the weekends, the sort us doggy-men (and women) secretly despise.

So whatever the result last night, it's safe to say it was an emotional occasion for us all.

* She's been named in the next squad