A retired greyhound in search of his forever home is winning hearts in the world of showing after he scooped a national award at his first event across the border in Sussex this month.
Romeo – better known by racegoers as Tober Romeo – raced nine times in the UK at tracks including Towcester and Oxford before finishing his career in the care of Central Park trainer Gemma Davidson.
The four-year-old brindled greyhound ran his final race in August 2025, and he’s now looking for a forever sofa with the help of Gemma and her team who manage Stophers Retired Greyhounds parallel to their racing operation.
Their search for a home extended to the We Love Dogs National Indoor Dog Show at the South of England Showground near Ardingly, where Romeo won first prize in the hound group after his post-racing condition wowed judges.
It was the work of Gemma’s part-time kennel hand and dog agility enthusiast Imogen Woodman which won over judges’ hearts.
Imogen splits her time at Stophers Kennels between sharing racing responsibilities, caring for greyhounds at home and familiairsing ex-racers with day-to-day environments such as town centres to facilitate a smooth retirement process.
“We couldn’t believe it when we found out Romeo had won the hound group,” said Gemma.
“Imogen is fantastic at showcasing our retired greyhounds, and educating people about the process they follow to find their forever home when their racing careers come to an end.
“Romeo has been out and about in town before, meeting people and familiarising himself with other dog breeds which is so important.
“But the We Love Dogs Indoor Show was on a different scale to anything he had experienced.
“He took everything in his stride, and even gave agility a go where he was completely unphased by the a-frame and weaving poles. It’s testament to his temperament, he’ll make a lovely pet when the right person comes along.”
Gemma has been training greyhounds professionally for almost two decades after she took over her father’s training license in 2007.
Highlights include winning the Grand National (2010) and Champion Hurdle (2011) with kennel star Plane Daddy. She also caused the biggest upset in the history of the prestigious Guys and Dolls at Crayford in 2019 when Skip Mayo won the final, priced 20-1.
Central Park has been her racing base since 2022, and Romeo is one of 80 greyhounds in her care which are a mix of puppies, greyhounds in training and retired racers.
Gemma added: “Romeo is such a happy, friendly, greyhound.
“Every person he meets, it’s like he has known them forever. He will make the perfect pet for a person or a family and is fantastic with children like almost all greyhounds.
“We’ll give him all the love at our kennels until the right home presents itself, or a space becomes available with one of Central Park’s homing partners.
“The day he does find his forever home will be full of mixed emotions I’m sure!”
Anyone interested in meeting Romeo, or learning more about Stophers Retired Greyhounds, is welcome to contact Gemma via 07711 041097.
