By Rob Abrey
There are two competitions starting tonight at the Essex venue. It is the competition for greyhounds yet to win an open race that has the intriguing and interesting entries that has garnered my focus.
Central Park trainer George Andreas travels to Romford with three greyhounds but it is his Courts Ad Peter in heat three of the Romford Friday night 500 maidens that catches the eye. The son of Droopys Scolari and Pony Imp has only had one race on these shores and that was over 265 metres around Central Park where he came last but only 3 ¼ lengths from the winner. All his other trials bar one have been over two bends so can the April ’15 whelp stay and hold his own in open races? Trainer George Andreas has the answers.
“I like this dog a lot. He is a dog that I’m excited about. We bought him from the Shelbourne sales where my son pointed him out in the catalogue. He had one of the fastest splits of the day and his early pace is ferocious.
“With some pups, they can do a fluke break but he came out on an elastic band. I like sprinters and bought him with Romford in mind. He ran in a top graded sprint race at Central Park and missed his break at the start but ran a stormer in defeat that gave me the impression he could stay a lot further.
“We trialled him over 450 metres at Central Park where he clocked 27.55, which is impressive for a baby. We were pleased with his time of 13.84 around Romford over 225 metres and feel he can improve.”
Dance Muller in heat one at 8.18pm is another interesting one. Trained by local handler Philip Simmonds, the son of Droopys Scolari and Dance Melissa has yet to race on these shores but has shown in recent trials around Romford he is coming along nicely. Trainer Philip Simmonds on Dance Muller said: “We thought we would put him straight into the maiden competition and see what happens.
“I would like him a little closer to the rails [drawn trap 3] but he is in fine fettle and capable of winning in that division. I don’t think the distance will be a problem. He was bought with Romford in mind and has trialled well.”
You don’t need to be a detective to figure out that Cassies Girl in the second heat at 8.34pm has a great chance of claiming her first ever win on these shores. The June ’14 whelp has had eight graded races in Ireland and most recently won an A4 race at Shelbourne Park over 480 metres by 3 ½ lengths as an 6/4 favourite.
The daughter of Taylors Sky and Swords Elite has taken to Romford like a duck to water. She has improved with every trial clocking calculated times of 24.54, 24.34 & 24.23 seconds. She is the sole wide seed in tonight’s race and with a decent start has a fantastic chance of opening her account.
