Three Category One finals this weekend and the first was settled at a rain swept Towcester on Sunday afternoon where Paul Young’s strong finishing Bombay Birch would have relished every raindrop as he gave a start and beating to odds on favourite Ballymac Kobe in 29.60. The track conditions shouldn’t have taken a lot of working out with Birch having won his heat and semi in 28.92. The going was clearly -68!
The Crayford double header saw British bred Signet Harper prove that a genuine hurdler can be equally consistent as the best flat runner. Ricky Holloway’s bitch has never raced on the flat, dishonestly or otherwise . But the favourite, with a 23.22 FOY on her card, made it 11 wins from her last 14 outings to take the Grand National Final. As for Aayamza Sydney – his track record breaking run in the Gold Collar Final was arguably the run he has been waiting to produce for his entire career. He didn’t just beat Mayshighlandreel of 33.09, his 32.85 just vapourised it. And all at 36.7kg. It ain’t what you’ve got it’s the way that you use it apparently.
The first name on the chart was Wicky Ned following his 29.65 semi final win in the PGR Eclipse. Conveniently, the run on normal going, equated exactly with his first round win in 29.35 (+30). He is a consistent boy though! His last three sectionals: 5.04, 5.04, 5.04. Given the state of the track, pretty good considering the rainfall, it also puts an interesting perspective on Gunslinger’s 28.42 for the 480m, just one spot away from the FOY.
Back at Ned’s home track, it was the prolific Wraysbury Katie who set the standard with a very decent 28.61 A1 win from Delvin Cat and Tonelagee. It was her first run back at Byker following some unsuccessful attempts at Sunderland. The surprise wasn’t the win, it was the SP. She returned at 7/2. Last time out at Newcastle she had beaten Delvin Cat in 28.45 and returned at 4/1. She has a PB of 28.32 and a 27.64 at the Sheffield equivalent. As a half sister to Fromposttopillar, her destiny is surely the breeding paddocks?
While at Sunderland, it wouldn’t be very often that a ‘sub27’ graded run fails to make this feature. The hound in question is Hopes Sharkie who went under the barrier by a couple of spots when winning an A1 on Friday night. The former Nathan Hunt-trained runner has open race winning form at Nottingham (17.95) and Romford (23.96).
The Betgoodwin Maiden Cup got underway at Oxford on Friday and as you might expect, it attracted some talented unexposed pups. Ballymac Axel looked the best of them on the night with a 26.85 run for Maxine Locke on going was rated -20. Considering track specialist Long Fellow was only one spot quicker, it was a very decent run for a May pup on racing debut.
Inflation might not be as famous as Champion Stakes winning brother Hollow Man, though he also has open race winning form at Romford. Their half brother Come Asyouare was a great favourite at Yarmouth and went on to contest a Champion Stakes Final for Irene Barnard. On Monday, Inflation, clocked his fastest graded run to date with a 27.55 win in a Yarmouth A1. His previous top heat win was in 27.56.
A tough call at Harlow where ex-Crayford A7 hound Fastnet Best clocked 26.11 (+30) when winning an A2. But we’ve gone for another slightly slower A2 winner Tax You Tonight in what appeared a slightly tougher race featuring the defending POW Alberta Jamie. Di Jinks’ 31 kilo black, who has a 26.05 run on her card, clocked 26.14 (+20).
Four runner races get bad press, particularly when they are won by the favourite. But the 9.36 at Swindon on Thursday, reduced by two non-arrivals, saw a fair shoot out between Cassidy (T2), Getup Me Champ (T4), Southfield Duke (T5) and Eze (T6). The locals reckoned Duke an even money favourite and so it proved, though it was surprising to see Eze so easily beaten by four and a half lengths.
Once every few weeks Kinsley pull together an all-stars line-up using the recent A2 winners and the rest of the tracks fastest middle distance hounds including those who have been running in D1 sprints or from the back of the handicaps. On Sunday we had one of those intriguing line-ups where you could make a case for each of the six. The layers, surprisingly, made Aikins Gift, one of the tracks top sprinters, their 9/4f. Although she led, she was beaten fair and square by Kilara Thyestes in 28.32.
March On Mini’s 23.74 was the quickest 400 at Romford last week, Farneys Mate (35.15) was quickest over six bends. But the selection was the fourth fastest hound over the 225m course this year, Paul Young’s He Dee One. Interestingly, having ‘never been at the races’ in his first two Romford outings, he was KO’d in the third but the subsequent solo trial seemed to have been a timely confidence booster.
Aero Chubby was Monmore’s fastest four bend winner last week but we are swerving him in favour of kennelmate Cree Jo Jo with a D1 sprint win. An Islandbridge Open Sprint dead-heat runner-up, he has been nursed through an injury setback by Richie Taberner and clocked 15.27 (FOY 15.15) on Saturday, to add to a Monmore CV that includes 15.21 (trial) and 15.26 runs. Looks like a major player for the forthcoming National Sprint at Nottingham.
Weather has affected winning times at all the tracks this week which complicates selections. For example, it was never likely that Storm Bert would allow for fast times over the weekend. Nevertheless take nothing from Holiday Rascal’s 29.04 at Central Park earlier in the week. Dan Brabon’s heavyweight veteran has recent D1 wins and has now won three of his last five A1s. In his prime he was a 35.09 open race winner for 575m at Romford and he finished runner-up to Laughil Jess in a Guys And Dolls Final.
You don’t need a clock to work out that Tuono Bella produced the best run of the week at a windswept Hove on Saturday night. Already the fastest over the 740 course this year (44.10), with going allowance included, her 44.48 (N) was a calculated quicker run. The St.Leger finalist has three recent wins in four outings over the trip and will go into next Saturday’s Curtis/Ballyregan Memorial first round as a leading player.
Perry Barr’s standard trip was running -90 on Saturday as Hi Ger landed the ‘Winnner of One’ open. Things might have been easing a bit but the run of the night was Moyar Brow’s 29.24 (-80) win in the A1 top heat. However we are going to pass over both of them in favour of the British bred Union Rose who picked up a second consecutive A1 win on Thursday in 28.35.
It was a similar story at Doncaster where the standard trip on Saturday night was assessed at -90 and -120 on Sunday. So we’ll track back to earlier in the week when Jimmy Gaskin’s locally bred Redbrick Tulip destroyed a B1 field by almost eight lengths in 27.51 (-10) for the 450m. It was her first outing since landing an A1 in 29.39 four months earlier. It was only the sixth race of her career and her fourth win.
Valley lost their Sunday meeting to the weather. Looking earlier in the week, there were a couple of 28.77 runs for the standard, but only one hound broke the 16.00 barrier for the sprint, Hawkfield Coco who did it with three spots to spare. The 25 kilo white and blue followed up an open win with a D1. She is also a half sister to last week’s POW, also a sprinter, Hawkfield Scar.
No going issues at Sheffield on Sunday as the track prepared for the BGBF British Bred Derby which gets underway a fortnight yesterday. The star performer on the day was Phil Milner’s Keefill Rocky who say off the prolific Acomb Felix by three lengths in 28.72. Felix’s litter sister Acomb Irene was just seven spots slower two races later. Over six bends there was a decent run on the same card by Tom Heilbron’s Clodcar Rosie with a 39.11 clock. She is unbeaten in her last three stayers races.
The week ended with a gala meeting at Pelaw Grange which included a spread of opens. Yet it was A2 winner Emilys Superstar who produced the performance of the night with a 25.60 run for the standard distance with Brynoffa Barney completing the forecast for Mark Bulmer. A mention too for Blastoff Cassius who turned over 8/13 chance Laughil Flash in the sprint.
