I’ll be top dog

GREYHOUND OWNER PRICE ON THE OCHE

GERWYN PRICE names his greyhounds after special moments in his darts career – and he is desperate to fly out of the traps tonight.

Among the Iceman’s stable of dogs is a rapid pup called Grand Slam Champ after his first triumph in a TV major and another called Perfect Nine after his first nine- darter last year.

As he launches his William Hill PDC World Championship campaign with an all- Welsh second- round tie against Jamie Lewis tonight, ‘ Gezzy’ dreams of adding to his pack with a hound to commemorate a maiden title at Ally Pally.

Anyone for Sid’s Trophy after Sid Waddell, whose memory is enshrined in the sport’s richest prize?

Or for a former hooker with Neath in his rugby union days, how about Three In A Bed?

Take your pick – but the third seed has his eyes on the prize. He said: “I have about five or six greyhounds but they are not running too good at the moment.

“I had one in the Irish Derby last year – we made it through two rounds but the dogs out there were a bit too strong. Obviously, during lockdown there was no racing for a few months. I had bought a little pup during his schooling and he missed out on all his puppy schooling, so didn’t turn out to be the dog he should have been.

“That’s the way life goes but it hasn’t put me off – I will invest in some more dogs, more puppies and hopefully they will turn out to be world champions or a Derby winner.”

Who will be the first world champion in Price’s household – the fiery darts player or one of his dogs?

He said: “That’s the million- dollar question. It depends if I buy a good dog, I suppose.

“The dog I bought in Ireland is called Grand Slam Champ. I had a couple of dogs on a flatman track – it’s a bit of fun, not a professional track – and we named them Double Top and Perfect Nine, after my nine- darter against Glen Durrant last year.”

MY AIM: Ex- rugby player Price with PDC trophy