Thomas Edward Wright (1861–1956) is an English

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

trainer. His family was known for its success during the late 19th century. He is the youngest son of

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

& Anne Wright of Avenue Farm in Waverton,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

. One of seven children, he followed his brothers Jack Wright and

Joe Wright Joseph Wright (born 25 August 1972) is an English film director. His motion pictures include the period drama adaptations '' Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), ''Atonement'' (2007), '' Anna Karenina'' (2012), and '' Cyrano'' (2021), the action thrill ...

into greyhound training. Initially he trained at Hey House in

Saughall Saughall is a village in the civil parish of Saughall and Shotwick Park, in the unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Located between Shotwick and Blacon, it is approximately nor ...

for the Fawcett brothers, whom his father had bred and trained for, before moving his training to the Caeau, near

Hope, Flintshire Hope () is a small village and community in Flintshire, north-east Wales. The village is located approximately from the Wales-England border, on the course of the River Alyn, and less than 5 miles from Wrexham. Hope is one of several village ...

. In his later years he lived at Saighton,

. Training greyhounds for coursing Tom Wright employed many different methods to ensure his dogs successes; hanging pig carcasses from a tree encouraging the dogs to jump to strengthen their hind legs and teaching them to jump drainage ditches that they may encounter during the

coursing Coursing by humans is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by sight, but not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised by the nobility, ...

. 1895 saw the dominance of the Wright family in the Waterloo Cup competition, Joe trained the winner Thoughtless Beauty, Tom trained the runner up Fortuna Favente and another brother Robert Kelsell Wright slipped the dogs in the final. In the White Lion public house in Brampton, Cumberland he purchased the greyhound bitch Fair Future for £5 from the landlord. The bitches litters yielded amongst the first Waterloo Cup winning greyhound for the Fawcett brothers and Tom Wright. The following is a list of the Waterloo Cup winning greyhounds that he trained: *1896 Fabulous Fortune *1900 Fearless Footsteps *1901 Fearless Footsteps *1902 Farndon Ferry *1903 Father Flint Acknowledged by Charles Blanning and Sir Mark Prescott as one of the great trainers of all time,Blanning, Charles & Prescott Sir Mark (1987) Waterloo Cup: The First 150 Years he died at his daughter's house in Whitford, Flintshire, in 1956. His son Ralph was the manager at

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

greyhound stadium, and his son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

also trained greyhounds, winning the Waterloo Cup 4 times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Tom 1861 births 1956 deaths People from Waverton