There was good and anticipated bad news for the KSS Syndicate and their fastest King and Queen.
Derby semi finalist Queen Beyonce clocked a brilliant 16.32 – only four spots slower than Lambeth Way in the night’s quickest sprint open – but the ‘make or break’ trial ended in lameness.
Rab McNair said: “She injured herself in the Derby semi final and has never been right since. Although we ran her in the Oaks, she was never fully back to her best, and when she went out, I pretty much knew that it was all over.
“But we decided to give it one last attempt after lots of treatment and a decent lay-off but it wasn’t to be.
“She railed like a cat, there was no sign of any problem, but when I picked her up at the knock-off, I could see that she was lame. It is an injury to the main tendon down a front leg, and they don’t very often come back.
“But, we aren’t downhearted. She will go into the kennel with the other brood bitches and we will wait for her to come into season. Just the thought of her having pups is enough to make me smile.”
A winner of 18 of her 27 races, Beyonce (Eden The Kid-Skate On, Feb 17) reached the semi finals of the English Oaks and Derby and won the Sussex Puppy Trophy. Her two best races were probably a 29.27 over the Derby course and a 28.67 run for 480m at Central Park.
However the kennel gloom was lifted as Beyonce’s brother King Sheeran became the first greyhound to break 29.00 for the new Hove 500 metre course.
McNair said: “The going allowance was given as ‘normal’ though I thought it might have been on the slow side, particularly for the wide runners. Check out the racing last night and the inside dogs seemed to have an advantage. I was delighted with him and the other two, particularly Dylan. All three (with King Lennon) are now headed for the Coral Winter Derby.”
