Sidney John Orton (1890–1978) 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 the trainer of Mick the Miller and a UK leading trainer during the 1930s.

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Sidney was born in

Aylsham Aylsham ( or ) is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Bure in north Norfolk, England, nearly north of Norwich. The river rises near Melton Constable, upstream from Aylsham and continues to Great Yarmouth and the North Sea, ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

and helped his parents run the family farm in Stonegate. He married Gladys Harmer in 1917 and had a family including a son called Sydney 'Clare' Orton in 1918. When oval circuit greyhound racing arrived in Britain in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

, he swapped his interest in coursing to become Clerk of the Scales and then a trainer during the early years at

Wimbledon Stadium Wimbledon Stadium, also known as Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, was a greyhound racing track located in Wimbledon in southwest London, England. It also hosted stock car and other small circuit motor racing events, and until 2005 hosted motorc ...

. The family lived in the Wimbledon trainers complex known as Burhill Kennels in

Hersham Hersham is a village in Surrey, within the M25. Its housing is relatively low-rise and diverse and it has four technology/trading estates. The only contiguous settlement is Walton-on-Thames, its post town. Hersham is served by Hersham and Wa ...

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

. In December 1929, he was propelled to national fame when he took charge of Mick the Miller and won the 1930 English Greyhound Derby. During the 1930s, he won a significant number of classic races and was one of the leading trainers in the country. He earned the nickname 'The Wizard of Burhill'. He handled the famous greyhounds including Ballynennan Moon, Brilliant Bob, Ballyhennessy Sandhills, Quare Times, Mondays News and Burhill Moon before retiring in 1959. His son, Clare, took up training in the late 1940s initially at

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

and Clapton before taking over the Wimbledon contract when his father retired. He died on late 1978, aged 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orton, Sidney 1890 births 1978 deaths British greyhound racing trainers