Brian Parsons jokes that he still has five of his nine lives left and that’s a very good thing because the 76-year-old owner/breeder has plenty to look forward to with his brilliant young litter brothers Simon Told Helen and Who Told Stevie.
Brian was trackside at The Meadows last Wednesday to watch Simon Told Helen and Who Told Stevie, both trained by David Burnett, run the quinella in the Group 3 Great Chase, continuing the sensational opening to their careers.
Just a neck separated the siblings, which have both won five of their seven starts.
Parsons has bravely overcome several serious health issues – including a 25-minute visit to “heaven” following a heart attack – but there’s no doubt he’s a survivor and his health concerns have been integral to his remarkable greyhound racing journey.
“I’ve been pretty crook a few times,” Parsons said.
“I had a stroke back in ’91. I came good and I went to see my GP Mick Carroll and he asked me to go in a horse with him. I’d had horses before and wasn’t real keen so Mick said to think about a greyhound.
“Then in 2002 I had to go into hospital for surgery on throat cancer. Simon Crowley was my surgeon and Mick Carroll said if I could get Simon to go into a greyhound he would get the rest of the syndicate.
“The surgery was a success and when Simon came in after my surgery I told him I had a proposition for him – to go halves in a greyhound. He asked how much it cost and when I said $40 a month he said he was in.
“No sooner had Simon walked out than my GP walked in and I told Mick I’ve got Simon so he needed to get the rest!”
The remainder of the Emma’s Boys Syndicate comprises Brian’s late wife Margaret, John O’Toole and Paul Douglas.
The partnership’s first greyhound was Spacies Girl – Emma – which was purchased off Angela Langton and trained by Jeff Britton and after a short 11-start career produced her first litter to 2004 National Derby winner Pacific Sky.
