Heat one was taken by the sole entrant of BGBF Chairman John Marriott. As highlighted in yesterdays preview Fearsome Aria held a significant age and experience advantage over a number of her competition rivals and she put that to good use to take the honours here. Leading early from a plot draw in trap 1 , Aria was pressed on the run for home by the Phil Simmond’s bred and trained Rackitip Charlie who came to challenge off the last and looked the likely winner but was possibly just lacking a slight bit of stamina on what was his first ever effort over anything further than the 400m circuit at home track Romford.
Nathan Hunt , assistant trainer to Phil Simmonds and the GBGB kennel hand of the year for 2018 is a man who speaks a lot of sense and he had some strong thoughts on the build up to this competition. Nathan said “We were only originally coming up to Sheffield with 3 runners and had trialled the 3 runners which we’d planned to enter. We then received a call to say that the deadline for the competition had been held over by 24 hours due to them only receiving 15 entries.
They told us that the competition would go ahead if they reached 18. I’ve got to thank Sheffield for being so proactive and taking time out to call us , we’d have hated to see the competition go by the wayside , especially having taken so much time out to trial the original 3 pups in preparation. It really was a difficult position to be in quite honestly , we either pulled the original 3 entries out and wasted months of preparation , or we put in 3 to fill the competition that in all honesty would have benefited from a trial at least. On this basis I thought Rackitup Charlie ran a huge race in the first heat to only narrowly go down to a bitch laden with experience of this venue.
He’s only a September 2017 whelp from out mating of Leamaneigh Turbo and Bang On Pippa. For what was his first run away from Romford , over a trip 100m further than he’s faced previously and his first run around the track , I thought it was a quite superb run and give him a few more months he could mature into a very nice type. We’re now looking forward to the semi final with him , but i’d hope in future these events were promoted a little better than they currently are and that trainers like ourselves don’t have our hands forced into making late entries just to get a competition on”.
Queen Swift for Liz and Rab McNair and the team took the third qualifying slot followed home by the luckless in running Goldies Allen who looked on paper to have a terrible draw and so it proved in reality. For the Patrick Janssens trained July 2017 whelp by Kinloch Brae x Newinn This Way to be beaten just 2 3/4 lengths after suffering the crowding throughout the race that he did , it was no mean effort and with any kind of run in his remaining races in this competition he looks sure to be a player.
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If an ante post book had been made for this competition then there is no doubting that the Liz McNair trained King Idol would have headed the market. This May 2017 whelp by Eden The Kid and Shaws Dilemma looks destined to be competing in category one events throughout his career.
It was no surprise at all to see him sent off at the track at long odds on , 1-5f was his SP , though he was available at double that on the exchanges with many good judges deeming that price a touch of value. He wasn’t perfectly away , but soon paced up to take command against the rail to lead by the first bend. From here on in it was simply Idol against the clock , eventually winning by 5 lengths exactly in a fastest of the first round 2900 dead. With improvement to come for what was his first look around the track , he’s sure to take a lot of beating in both semi final and potentially the final itself.
Bang On Annie ran a game race in second for trainer Simmonds , she was one of connections original entrants and had benefited from a trial , this was a good effort though from a bitch who is a little over 4 months younger than the winner. She looks like making up into a nice Oaks prospect , a competition not unfamiliar with this particular set of connections.
Litter brother to Annie , Rackitup Bruce took third place , he too was one of the original 3 runners entered and trialled for this competition , whilst Pat Rosney’s Moyar Meg took the fourth and final qualifying place for next weeks semi finals.
Heat three looked a match on paper between the John Mullins trained Saving Sonic and Liz McNair’s Queen Cher. These are two very nice greyhounds in the making but it was Saving Sonic who put his beneficial draw and previous experience of the venue to good use to lead by the first turn and comfortably hold off the constant challenge of Cher by 1 3/4 lengths.
The bitch lost nothing in defeat here , it was her first look at the venue and can only improve. Connections will be pleased to have done their job and got her into the semi finals , whilst Saving Sonic looks a good strong dog , not just for this competition but going forward as the year progresses for John Mullins and the team. Romeo Ruben , again for trainer Mullins , took the third qualifying slot whilst Rack Itup Turbo , a greyhound not originally entered for the competition , took the fourth and final qualifying position.
