Leading open race trainer Patrick Janssens swerved Nottingham on Saturday but sent out four winners from as many entries at Crayford. On Sunday night he sent six runners to Central Park, for five wins and a forecast.
Affleck Lady (2-5f) clocked an excellent 45.40 (+30) when making her 714 metre debut at Crayford. The veteran Goldies Hotspur (6-4) short headed Shotgun Bullet in 45.70 in the other eight-bender.
With the £7,500 Guys And Dolls due to start on Saturday, Seaglass Shadow (7-4) and Magical Houdini (4-7f) picked up their 380m events in 23.29 (+20) and 23.26 respectively.
Twenty four hours later, Goldies Allen (5-2) set the ball rolling in a 450m event at Central Park. He was followed by Seaglass Tiger (4-9), Seaglass Phantom (2-5) and Lenson Whelan (1-4f). Patrick’s last two runners were in the top stayers division where Seaglass Celine (2-1) beat her kennelmate Affleck Bolt (2-5).
Patrick said: “It is good to see the dogs running well. I always fancied Affleck Lady for Crayford. I mapped out the Golden Jacket for her but she picked up an injury and it was the first chance she had to show what she is capable of.
“I thought about running Hotspur in the Dorando but I couldn’t get a trial. I was offered one on a different day, but it would have meant an eight hour round trip, so we went to Crayford instead.
“Seaglass Shadow and Magical Houdini will be entered for the Guys And Dolls. I really fancied Shadow on Saturday. She is a good bitch who has been running against some of the best sprinters around at Central Park, and not been beaten far.
“Even though she lost a bit at the bends in her first trial there, she showed that she could run the track. I thought she would find three or four lengths second time around but she found half a second.
“Magical Houdini has been sprinting but he is not a real sprinter; he is a short-four-bend runner and has really taken to Crayford.
“Crayford isn’t for everyone, but I have always believed in ‘horses for courses’. If you have the right dog for the place, as Kilmore Lemon showed in the Guys And Dolls last year, then you take them on.
“It isn’t something that gets mentioned, but it must be so difficult in Ireland. If you don’t have a good 525 or 550 yard dog, there is very little to run for. Dogs like Magical Houdini or even Kilmore Lemon would have had no sort of career.”
In addition to the Guys And Dolls entries, Patrick plans to enter Distant Lucy, Bockos Doomie and Bockos Rory in next Sunday’s Henlow Puppy Derby first round.
