Bresbet Steel City Cup semis
The last 18 head to Owlerton this afternoon.
Wicky Ned goes in semi-final three of the Bresbet Steel City Cup this afternoon at Sheffield.
Links Maverick has been dealt another tough draw in the opening semi at 4.04. Trap five is far from an ideal starting slot for Tom Heilbron’s star. A similar split to his 4.15 in the opening round should see him turn right on the speed and he will then have to hold off the strong running Droopys Extragud for Heather Dimmock on the rails.
The middle semi-final at 4.24 pitches Heilbron’s other three qualifiers against one another. Litter brothers Romeo Crusade and Romeo Cypher both made the Produce Stakes final and will be hoping to make another decider. Acomb Alfie has the innermost draw for Kevin Ferguson which will suit him better than trap four last week.
Union Rebel (Kevin Hutton) beat Proper Heiress (Mark Wallis) in the heats last week. They clash again in the final semi at 4.42. They both have the unenviable task of taking on the ante-post favourite, Jimmy Fenwick’s Wicky Ned. Wallis also has Gun Slinger in here who came from another county to win his heat last week.
Premier Greyhound Racing Oaks
Druids Say Go is foot perfect again at Perry Barr.
A 3.44 sectional in the opening round was superb from the Patrick Janssens-trained bitch but a 3.42 on a track rated -30 last night was spectacular. The winner of 11 of her last 12 starts, she has now notched up 20 open race wins in 2024, taking her to within two of Different Speed for the most in the country. A wide draw in five in her semi will be a new test for her.
Her biggest challenger for the Oaks title at this stage is Liz McNair’s Queen Joni. They will not clash until the final at the earliest with the Kent raider drawn in the other semi. She saw off Nathan Hunt’s Icemans Girl in the closest finish of the four quarter-final contests.
Youngest qualifier for the semis is Ballyhealy Star for Brian Thompson. A September 22 whelp, she has taken well to Perry Barr but will need another 3.44 split in a semi where she takes on Druids Say Go. Three of the four winners are in the first semi with Matt Dartnall’s Distant Cara also drawn here.
Quarter-final one – 1st Druids Say Go (t4) – 2nd Devilgate Suzi (t3) – 3rd Droopys Eunice (t2)
Quarter-final two – 1st Distant Cara (t4) – 2nd Queen Dusty (t6) – 3rd Chamberlain Kate (t3)
Quarter-final three – 1st Ballyhealy Star (t3) – 2nd Catunda Layla (t2) – 3rd Front Alice (t5)
No replay for the third quarter-final given the trouble at the third bend.
Quarter-final four – 1st Queen Joni (t3) – 2nd Icemans Girl (t2) – Coppice Ella (t6)
Arc Scurry semi-finals next Saturday
Rioja Oisin sets the first round standard in the Scurry.
Six heats of the Arena Racing Company Scurry last night saw some of the top sprinters in the country in action. Pick of them was Kevin Hutton’s Rioja Oisin who clocked a new fastest of the year, even before the -10 going allowance was removed. Just the fifth race of his life, a sighting behind Magical Bluebear last week put him spot on.
William Russell’s dog was another of the heat winners and will renew his rivalry with Richie Taberner’s Cree Jo Jo in the opening semi. Taberner will also field Aero Sacundai in the race next week with Liz McNair’s King Capaldi and Adam Sear’s My Lennie making it a red-hot contest.
The second semi contains the other three heat winners. Bramble Linton (Steve Anderson), Alien Bolt (Taberner) and Dashing Dude (Frank Bryce) will clash. Fire And Ice was turned over in the opening round but the Romford Puppy Cup champion is safely through to take those three winners on.
PGR Kent Derby semi-finals
The clock falls again as King Memphis is imperious.
The new traps at Central Park are helping the times along but take nothing away from the Liz McNair-trained superstar. He produced a spectacular performance to stop the clock in 28.57. Next week will see him start as a short-priced favourite for the decider and justifiably so. Havana Top Note also made the final for the kennel.
Maxine Locke will also be doubly represented in the final with Droopys Manowar and Droopys Display. The former won the opening semi and is the least exposed in the lineup.
El Tornillo was only nine spots shy of King Memphis in his semi-final success for Dave Lee. His two sectionals are the quickest of any of the finalists. A repeat of those is going to give the favourite something to chase down which could set things up for a classic final.
Semi-final one – 1st Droopys Manowar (t1) – 2nd Atomic Crimes (t4) – 3rd Coolavanny Sissy (t3)
Semi-final two – King Memphis (t2) – 2nd Droopys Display (t3) – 3rd Romeo Kingpin (t1)
Semi-final three – El Tornillo (t4) – Havana Top Note (t1) – Droopys Doughnut (t5)
Niko Harbour the quickest at Shelbourne over 550y
There was some serious talent on show last night at Shelbourne but the fastest of the night was not such a well known name.
Owen McKenna’s Niko Harbour has not been seen in race action since the end of June. That was no barrier to him returning with a bang and a 29.37 over the Irish Derby distance. He had previously been fourth in the Champion Open Unraced at Kilkenny in May when behind Broadstrand Syd.
There was no luck for the Towcester champion De Lahdedah on his return to racing. He could only finish fifth after suffering trouble at the opening turn. Undulation was a solid 29.47 winner of the bitches dual distance final for Brendan Matthews while Untold Dollar returned to winning ways for Graham Holland in 29.39.
The trials last night were full of information ahead of the Derby. Tomorrow is the first round draw which will be done live at midday on Shelbourne’s Facebook page.
Nicky The Second looks for nine straight wins
Six opens on the 10-race card in Kent this evening.
A lot of eyes will be drawn to Julie Luckhurst’s Nicky The Second in the 380m maiden contest at 6.59. The winner of a remarkable eight graded races in a row, he steps into open company for the first time.
The Category Three winner of one final over 540m at 7.49 is the feature contest on the night. The two heats last week were won by litter sisters Kates Honey and Kates Dream for Ricky Holloway. They have only had five runs between them, winning all four over this short six-bend trip.
Three hurdles on the card look further opportunities for Holloway to add to his winning tally this year. Only Mark Wallis and Tom Heilbron have more open race winners in 2024. The final open is a 540m maiden at 7.16.
Romeo looks in command in the BGBF Greyhound Stud Book Trophy
The £3,000 to the winner Category Two final is the feature at Towcester this afternoon.
Patrick Janssens’ brindle continued his love affair with Towcester in the heats last week. The 2023 Derby runner-up clocked 28.82, running riot by six lengths. That was a hair over three lengths quicker than Phil Milner’s Keefill Rocky produced when winning his heat in 29.07. The other heat winner was Salacres Negocio for Peter Harnden who produced a 29.38 win. The race is due off at 3.49.
There are nine other opens on the card, including three divisions of a 500m standard. Bombay Ben (Janssens) and Bombay Nutty (Mark Wallis) are a pair of litter brothers from a good looking February 23 Broadstrand Bono – Change Me litter and look worth keeping on the right side of.
Hove sales tomorrow
The latest track sale will be on the south coast with trials starting at 10am.
It was at the Hove sales last year that Gary The Arb (then known as Droopys Haste) was sold. He blew the start badly that day but showed huge pace to the bend, eventually going under the hammer for £3,800.
That has proven to be an absolute bargain since! He can be seen on Gone To The Dogs – Live! on Friday night in the final of the £20,000 Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes at Romford.
You can find the catalogue on the Premier Greyhound Sales site.
Kinsley race times change from next Sunday
Pelaw has a final day on the PGR schedule tonight before moving to SIS.
The Sunday evening meeting at Kinsley will now begin at 6.17 and end at 9.24. A tweak of three minutes for the opening contest and a single minute for the last. Crayford are the other meeting on the PGR Sunday schedule and they will remain on the same times.
Stats
- Slippy Keith – 2.49 Sheffield – 6/6 so far when drawn in trap three.
- Salacres Tipster – 3.11 Towcester – 6/10 from the red jacket.
- Romeo Command – 3.49 Towcester – 7/8 at the track from white.
- Glenvale Bjorn – 7.44 Pelaw – 5/8 when competing in A2.
- Ascot Logan – 8.09 Clonmel – 8/9 from trap one.
