ALEX Ferguson might have his racehorses, but do they win as often as Brian Kidd's greyhound?

The Rovers manager can sometimes be found spending the odd hour or so at Belle Vue race track in Manchester.

And, like his former mentor, 'Kiddo' is acquiring a taste for the winner's enclosure with his dog Pendragon running into top form of late.

Recently, the 5-4 favourite zoomed out of trap one and did the business again in the 9.25pm at Belle Vue, pipping Last Reward by three-quarters of a length.

Perhaps Pendragon's winning streak could be an omen for Rovers - if only a little bit of his dog's success could rub off on the team, they would be a racing cert to stay up.

For Brian, a night at the dogs is the perfect way to forget the trials and tribulations of being a manager in the middle of the relegation scrap, especially as he seems to be on a winner.

"It's something I got into as a player," he said.

"I'm not a gambling man but it gives me an interest and I enjoy going down there for an hour.

"I got him from Ireland and he's been getting fitter and faster."

Let's hope the latter sentiment can soon apply to some of those on the Ewood casualty list.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.