The £20K Premier Greyhound Racing Golden Jacket reaches it semi final stage at Crayford on Saturday morning. It is an event that always has the potential to surprise. Here are a few of our observations and thoughts on the forthcoming qualifiers based on last weekend’s opening round.
Belinda Green’s Low Pressure (T3) produced easily the fastest sectional of the day and never looked like being caught. Although defending champ Sally was forced out at the second bend and made five lengths on the second circuit, she still came up eight lengths short. But don’t ever underestimate Jimmy Fenwick’s bitch, she clocked 46.15 in last year’s first round and 45.07 in the semis – off a 23.18 sectional. (Which is four spots slower than her 380 trial a fortnight ago.)
Between the pair last week, in the red jacket was Slapdash Tommy (33-1). He might not have the profile of the other two, but won last year’s Queen Mother Cup and more recently beat eventual winner Cochise in a heat of the Cesarewitch.
Fabulous Lynx (8-1) is fifth in the betting which on heat form looks very short. But although there might have been nine lengths on the clock, there was only half a length between Minnie Bullet and Lynx when the pair met in November’s Bet365 Puppy Oaks Final over 500m at Towcester.
On Saturday Lynx seemed to have a complete solo from trap three and there are no obvious reasons for the comparatively slow clock of 46.02. But this had all the hallmarks of ‘will come on for the run’ about it. She has the fastest 712m run at Towcester this year, 43.58 – admitedly from a very small sample. But if anything looks set to find chunks on the clock this week, it could be Lynx (or Sally!).
Completing the field is Roll On Sydney (28-1), a dog with 43.21 winning form at Towcester beating Night Time Danny. He has 45.61 recent winning form over c&d after overcoming all sorts of difficulties. In all honesty though, this doesn’t look like ‘his kind of track’. Famous last words?.
Minnie Bullet (9-2 outright fav) and Burgess Hannah (33-1) met in last week’s heats and although there was some crowding for the latter, it didn’t amount to the seven lengths worth of her defeat. Hannah actually has a 23.29 clock for four bends in a solo, one spot slower than Minnie’s sectional, but last year’s finalist has never come close to repeating that in any of her 16 races over c&d.
The favourite does not appear to be draw dependent, taking a middle course along the straights and railing at the bend. She won in 29.68 over 500m from red, and won her Essex Vase semi from the same box, eventually finishing third in the final. On all known form she is impossible to oppose.
Similarly, Droopys Jungle (40-1) and Yankee Molly (25-1) are also meeting for a second week in a row. What a shambles the last meeting was. It was eventually won by Jungle who is something of a ‘spare’ in her own kennel, though that is unfortunate. Who wouldn’t look like the makeweight next to Space Jet? Her winning time is irrelevent but it is hard to make a case for Matt Dartnall’s bitch in this particular race. Although very decent in her own right having already having made three major finals, including the Leger, she doesn’t look happy on this circuit and would ideally prefer another lap. Yankee Molly was the cause of most of the trouble, combining very decent straight pace with faulty steering. Clearly she has some ability and has won over 540 but she too probably wants somewhere bigger and longer.
The third match-up comes between Bubbly Cristal (33-1) and Luna Jezabelle (20-1). They emerged from a race within a race last week where Aayamza Magic (T1) and Doghouse Dazzler (T5) battled it out for 380 metres before Cristal and Jezabelle joined in. Jezabelle (T4) always looked the most likely to secure the win with Hunt Cup finalist Cristal (T4) making minimal headway into the lead. If the favourite gets herself into bother, the 35.28 Romford 575 winner Jezabelle – who also has a 23.38 Crayford sectional – looks comfortably her biggest danger.
Some hounds love Crayford, others don’t. Olga (7-1) belongs in the first category – though there is scope for improvement – note the check at the second bend from the orange jacketed runner last week and she is hardly taking paint off the running rail. How many lengths does she leave on the track? Nevertheless, the Monmore A1/S1 runner has won her last two outings south of the Thames and will almost certainly start favourite for the third, and weakest, semi final.
She takes on two of the hounds that she beat last week, Sweet Talker (20-1) and Ritzy Flyer (50-1). All three occupy the same boxes with the latter pair looking well held.
On known form,Droopys Jungle’s litter sister Droopys Senorita (12-1) would be Olga’s greatest threat, based on her second place in last year’s final and more recently the runner-up spot in the Ballyregan/Curtis Memorial at Hove. She also ran third in a TV Trophy.
On unknown form, Mark Wallis has decent expectations of recent Irish import Coonough Crow (12-1). Check out her run behind Fabulous Lynx, and her potential to find half a dozen lengths is obvious.
Completing the field is Romford minor open racer Urry Up Peejay, realistically priced as the 80-1, and the complete outsider.
