Linda Mullins is a retired 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 ...

. She is a five times champion trainer of Great Britain and was regarded as the leading trainer during the 1990s.

Personal life

Linda (née Chapelle) trained greyhounds at Eastbach kennels in

English Bicknor English Bicknor is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean district of west Gloucestershire, England. The 2011 Census recorded the population as 408. The village is near the county boundary with Herefordshire, opposite which is the vi ...

and then married Pat Mullins. They ran the greyhound business from kennels in

Manningtree Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Natural Beauty. Smallest town claim Manningtree has traditionally claimed to b ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and had fours sons; three of which (John, David and Kelly) became trainers in their own right at later dates. The family won the 1978 English Greyhound Derby with Lacca Champion. Pat died during March 1981 which resulted in Linda taking over the kennels. Her sister Jeanne Chapelle was a successful trainer 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 ...

with the JC prefix in the 1960s.

Career

Linda started as a kennel girl at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

and then as a trainer initially raced out of Cambridge Stadium in 1982 before spells at Harringay Stadium and

Crayford Stadium Crayford Stadium is a greyhound racing stadium located in the London Borough of Bexley in England. The stadium, which has featured races since 1986, has private suites, a restaurant and a number of bars. An evening meeting takes place every Tu ...

. The first Classic race success arrived in 1984 by virtue of a

Laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cookin ...

title with a greyhound called Amenhotep. Linda continued to gain success and switched tracks to Romford Stadium in 1987. She secured the first of three

Grand National The Grand National is a National Hunt horse race held annually at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England. First run in 1839, it is a handicap ...

titles in 1990 and her son David took out a licence at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

in 1991 before Linda gained a contract at

Walthamstow Stadium Walthamstow Stadium was a greyhound racing track in the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London.BBC News - Walthamstow race track to close' It was regarded as the leading greyhound racing stadium in Britain following the closure of W ...

. She secured five consecutive Champion Trainer titles from 1996-2000. A first

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 ...

final appearance in 1995 was quickly followed by numerous classics with the help of greyhounds such as El Tenor and Palace Issue. In 1999 Linda's Hello Buttons dead heated with Pottos Storm trained by her son David. In 2000, Linda called it a day and retired, her son John took over the licence.

Awards

She 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 ...

for five consecutive in 1996-2000 and won the Trainers Championship three times in 1991, 1993 and 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Linda Living people British greyhound racing trainers Year of birth missing (living people)