Geoffrey De Mulder (1930 – 11 December 2009) was an English

greyhound trainer A greyhound trainer is a person who trains greyhounds for racing. This involves exercising, feeding, and grooming them in addition to keeping the greyhound in race condition to enable the greyhound to race to the best of its ability. History Befo ...

. He was a two times champion trainer of Great Britain and was regarded as the leading trainer during the 1970s and 1980s.

Early life

He was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and grew up in a greyhound racing environment because his father Joe De Mulder was a prominent trainer during the 1950s and 1960s.

Career

After learning his trade with his father he took over the

National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom. History The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the r ...

licence in 1967 and he made the

Gold Collar The Gold Collar is a greyhound racing competition held annually. It was inaugurated in 1933 at Catford Stadium. Following the closure of Catford in 2003 the competition switched to Belle Vue Stadium but only lasted until 2009 when it was discont ...

final in his rookie year. His father retained ownership of several greyhounds in the kennel. The majority of his kennel were open race class greyhounds but he held attachments throughout the Midlands at

Oxford Stadium Oxford Stadium is a greyhound racing and speedway venue in Oxford, located in Sandy Lane, Cowley. Races were historically held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evening with afternoon BAGS (Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service) racing on ...

, Nottingham Stadium,

Coventry Stadium Brandon Stadium, also known as Coventry Stadium, is located 6 miles east of Coventry in Brandon, Warwickshire, England. It was the home of the Coventry Bees motorcycle speedway team. It also hosted BriSCA F1 Stock Car Racing on the 1st Satur ...

Hall Green Stadium Hall Green Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium located in the Birmingham suburb of Hall Green, which existed from 1927 until 2017. The track itself was a 412-metre long oval track with a sand covered surface. The capacity of the stadium was b ...

and

Norton Canes Stadium Norton Canes Stadium was a former greyhound racing track situated in Norton Canes, near Cannock in Staffordshire. Origins Charles Southall built the track in 1974 and chose a site east of the village of Norton Canes on the west side of the B ...

. His first major result was getting Little County into the 1970 English Greyhound Derby final where he finished runner-up. Training out of kennels in Meriden in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, he gained the nickname 'The Wizard of Meriden' and consistently won major competitions during the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest successes were the two

English Greyhound Derby The English Greyhound Derby is the most prestigious race on the British Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom, greyhound racing calendar, with a history stretching back to 1927. It was first held at White City Stadium, but moved to Wimbledon ...

wins in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

with Jimsun and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

with Sarahs Bunny, a

Scottish Greyhound Derby The Scottish Greyhound Derby was an original classic greyhound competition held at Shawfield Stadium. Held at Carntyne Stadium from 1928 to 1968, after the closure of Carntyne the race appeared at Shawfield from 1970 until 1985. In 1988 the Gre ...

and four times winner of the Consolation Derby. He sent out 14 English Derby finalists. De Mulder was responsible for the greyhounds with the 'Fearless' prefix' and was well known for being eccentric. His protégé Tony Meek went on to win two English Greyhound Derby finals. After a long illness he died in 2009 leaving a wife and two children.

Awards

He won the

Greyhound Trainer of the Year The Greyhound Trainer of the Year or Champion Trainer is an award for the leading greyhound trainer in the United Kingdom. It was inaugurated in 1961 and was originally elected by a press panel but is now awarded to the trainer who achieves the ...

twice in 1978 and 1979 and won the Trainers Championship twice in 1977 and 1987.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Mulder, Geoff Sportspeople from Yorkshire 1930 births 2009 deaths British greyhound racing trainers