“It’s a case of when he gets to the front, not if.’

Perry Barr racing manager Martin Seal refuses to defy the obvious when reckoning that the 2020 RPGTV St.Leger final is ‘the favourite’s to lose’.

Hayley Keightley’s 2-11 shot Roxholme Kristof further enhanced his reputation with another powerful racing display in the fastest of Thursday’s three semi finals.

The lightweight black showed that he is not dependent on a fast break or dominating in the early stages as he gave a start and four and a quarter length beating to Blue Tick George, who returned the second fastest time of the night. On going rated -25, the winner’s time was six spots outside Rubys Rascal’s track record.

Two of the three semi wins saw early leaders drawn back to the pack. Like George, Salacres Pippy was reeled in the latter staged. In her case by the powerful Aayamza Royale. Smallmead though, wasn’t for catching.

Seal said: “The first point I should make is that it is an absolutely mouth watering final containing six outstanding greyhounds. I couldn’t be happier with the line-up.

“There were some excellent performances in the semi finals but none better than Kristof. To run down Blue Tick George, who recorded an exceptional sectional of 16.09, in the way that he did, was a sign of pure class.

“Looking at the draw for the final, I could imagine Blue Tick George and Smallmead dominating the early stages. I don’t think the connections of either the three or four will be too unhappy with their draws in the middle; I thought Ballydoyle Bee put in another exceptional performance last night, just as she did in the first round.

“The favourite will certainly have to put in a bit of work to get there, but he should get a decent run from five. Personally, I don’t think there would be more than a couple of lengths between him and Aayamza Royale in a two dog trial.

“She isn’t a true wide runner, as Mark acknowledged when he entered her. She will pass on either side and has a fantastic racing brain, but being seeded wide certainly doesn’t disadvantage any of the others. You always feel though that she will have to avoid traffic and the favourite looks more likely to avoid it than she does.”

Latest odds: 1-2 Roxholme Kristof, 9-2 Aayamza Royale, 7-1 Smallmead, 10-1 Blue Tick George, 20-1 Ballydoyle Bee, 25-1 Salacres Pippy.