The final of the 74th Swindon Two Year Old Produce Stakes takes centre-stage at the track on Sunday evening. First run in 1946 at Eastville Stadium in Bristol, the competition switched to Swindon in 1997 and has never looked back.
The competition is only open to British Bred greyhounds only and boasts an illustrious roll of honour. In recent years, the competition has been won by the likes of Take The Crown (2014), King Elvis (2017) and King Sheeran (2019), with the latter being a semi-finalist in last year’s Greyhound Derby.
We have previewed the final with our selections ahead of a thrilling finish to what has been an excellent competition so far. A reminder of the semi finals:
8:27pm: 74th British Bred Two Year Old Produce Stakes Final (Open Race over 476m)
Trap One: Boca Junior
Represents Kevin Hutton and has finished second in all three of his heats. He posted a good time in his semi-final, but was well-beaten by Amka Rofe and needs to take another step forward. The draw is bound to suit and he is not without a chance, but others in the field are preferred.
BOCA JUNIOR – pic Josh Sealey
Trap Two: Lights Out
Shaped nicely in the first two rounds, before showing a terrific attitude to score by a head in her semi-final. She did not break brilliantly in that race, but showed good track-craft to take the lead in the closing stages. That was her best time of the competition however (28.45s) and she clearly needs to improve again given that is one of the slowest times out of the finalist. The draw in a trap two should suit if she can overcome trouble with Boca Junior on the inside.
Lights Out – pic Josh Sealey
Trap Three: Liberty Belle
Has filled the runner-up position in her last three starts, all of which have been narrow verdicts of a head, short-head and a head. In her semi-final she was a narrow second to Lights Out, but that race was run in a quite a slow time and she needs to take a big step forward to win this.
Trap Four: Amka Rofe
One of the leading candidates for the competition. He won his opening heat in ready fashion having broken well and not looking back from thereafter. He disappointed in the second round, but bounced back firmly back to form with an easy success in his semi-final. He showed good early pace on that occasion and ran on strongly to score in an excellent time. The main concern looks to be the draw given he likes to bag the rails, but he is one of the leading contenders in the final.
Amka Rofe – pic Josh Sealey
Trap Five: Queen Jessiej
Our selection for the final. One of the best greyhounds currently in training, Queen Jessiej deserves another big day in the sun. She is ultra-consistent and has looked every inch a superstar in this competition. She is unbeaten having won all three of her heats in smooth fashion. She was particularly impressive when dotting up in her semi-final by three and a half-lengths having shown good early in a time of 28.12s. She boasts the fastest two times of any of the finalists and is also the only contender in the line-up to run under 28s, having posted a time of 27.99s in the second round. The draw in a trap five is of course a cause for concern given she likes to bag the rail, but she won her opening heat from the middle and looks capable of overcoming any issues. She is quite clearly the best dog in the competition and she can display her class with a win here.
Fastest Queen Jessiej – pic Josh Sealey
Trap Six: Acomb Winston
Consistent dog who won by five lengths in his opening heat. He met trouble in running when failing to justify odds-on favouritism in the second round and was then well-beaten by Queen Jessiej in the semi-final. He is the only wide runner in the field and that could play to his strengths. However, he does need to take a big step forward to feature here.
Acomb Winston – pic Josh Sealey
Verdict: The Queen to deliver
Queen Jessiej is the clear form-pick. She is unbeaten in the competition and deserves to win this for Rab and Liz McNair. She is a bitch who wears her heart on her sleeve and whilst the draw is a slight concern, she can overcome it given she consistently shows good early pace. She can be chased home by Amka Rofe and Acomb Winston in the 74th running of the Swindon Two Year Old Produce Stakes final.
1st – Queen Jessiej
2nd – Amka Rofe
3rd – Acomb Winston
