Patrick Janssens (greyhound trainer)

Patrick Janssens
OccupationGreyhound trainer
BornNovember 1970
Belgium
Major racing wins
Classic/Feature wins:
Oaks
(2022, 2024)
Laurels
(2023)
TV Trophy
(2017)
Gold Collar
(2020)
East Anglian Derby
(2020, 2024)
Golden Jacket
(2020)
Golden Sprint
(2020, 2021, 2023)
Sussex Cup
(2016, 2020)
Champion Stakes
(2020)
Kent Derby
(2017, 2020)
Juvenile
(2019)
The Puppy Derby
(2019)
Ladbrokes Gold Cup
(2019)
Ladbrokes Puppy Derby
(2022)
Eclipse
(2022)
Honours
2021 English Greyhound Derby winner
2020 British Trainer of the Year

Patrick Jozef Anna Janssens (born 1970) is a Belgian born greyhound trainer. He has won the English Greyhound Derby and has been British champion trainer.[1]

Career

Aged 10, Janssens frequented the Beringen, Geldrop and Amsterdam tracks and as a teenager he schooled and trained a greyhound to finish second in the Belgian Championships. During the late 1980s he moved to Ireland to work as a kennelhand for Matt O'Donnell and later Pat Dalton. He then moved to England and gained a position at Linda Jones' Imperial kennels in Lakenheath where he was working alongside Mark Wallis.[2]

In 2005, he met his future wife Cheryl, who then joined the Imperial Kennels which were now under the control of Wallis. Nine years later in 2014 the pair left to start their own kennels and business[3] in Thetford and ran greyhounds at Mildenhall Stadium before gaining a position at the newly opened Towcester Greyhound Stadium.[2]

Success came quickly and during 2016 the kennel won the Sussex Cup with Barricane Tiger.[4] The following year he won the prestigious TV Trophy with Goldies Hotspur at Towcester.[5] A fine year resulted in qualification for the 2018 Trainers Championship where he finished in fifth place.[6] Towcester closed in 2018 and Janssens joined Central Park[7] but despite the forced move 2018 was another good year with a second qualification for the 2019 Trainers Championship where he finished runner-up behind Angela Harrison. Wins during 2019 included the Juvenile, The Puppy Derby and Ladbrokes Gold Cup.

In 2020, Patrick Janssens won his maiden Trainer of the Year title ending the eight-year reign of his former boss Mark Wallis.[1][8] Other success during 2020 included the Gold Collar, East Anglian Derby, Golden Jacket, Golden Sprint, Sussex Cup, Champion Stakes and Kent Derby with stars such as Bockos Doomie, Desperado Dan and Kilara Lion.

During February 2021 Janssens announced his return to Towcester as an attached trainer and in July he reached the pinnacle of the sport by winning the 2021 English Greyhound Derby with Thorn Falcon.[9]

Awards

Janssens has won the Greyhound Trainer of the Year in 2020[10] and the Trainers Championship in 2023.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b "Trainer's of the Year standings". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Profile: Patrick Janssens". Greyhound Star. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Patrick Janssens". Premarket Pets. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  4. ^ "2016 Result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain.
  5. ^ "2017 Result". Greyhound Board of Great Britain.
  6. ^ "Trainers Championship". Greyhound Star. 22 April 2018.
  7. ^ "In-form Janssens switches to the Central Park ranks". Central Park Stadium. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  8. ^ "TRAINERS CHAMPIONSHIP – INCLUDES EVERY OPEN RACE TRAINER". Greyhound Star. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Star Sports/TRC Events & Leisure English Greyhound Derby 2021 Final". Greyhound Board of Great Britain. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Patrick Janssens reflects on winning his first Greyhound Board of Great Britain Trainer of the Year title". Suffolk News. 7 January 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  11. ^ "PATRICK WAS WAITING ON FINAL JUDGEMENT". Greyhound Star. 7 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.