A fabulous Friday headed by the £20K PGR Champion Stakes and Coral Standard Trophy at Romford. The starring performance clearly has to be the new 575m track record for Hollow Man.
Meanwhile Oxford staged the heats of the RPGTV Puppy Collar where King Memphis followed up 26.63 and 26.61 trials with a fastest-of-round, 26.65.
The following night, Memphis’ ‘cousin’ Queen Joni produced the quickest run in the opening round of the PGR English Oaks at Perry Barr. She is now the 7-2 ante post favourite.
The next PGR £20K cab off the rank is the Kent Derby which gets underway on Sunday – entries close at noon on Wednesday. A number of ‘probables’ completed their preparation on Sunday afternoon and none was more impressive than Romeo Command. The English Derby runner-up became the quickest over the new 491m course with a 29.05 run. He might be a selection on a few ante post slips: UK Races-22, Wins-18, 2nds-3, 3rds-1.
It is quite a jump from Kinsley A3 to fastest first round winner of the Bresbet Steel City Cup, but that is what Fearmore Delboy achieved on Tuesday night with a 28.66 run. To be fair, Kevin Seville’s brindle was only 18 months old when he was running graded but now has three wins in his last four outings.
Hopes Knight’s 17.74 for the Nottingham sprint on Monday is just outside the top ten runs this year. But it is worth noting that Farneys Trends 17.53 – the FOY – was recorded on +20 going. Nathan Hunt’s runner – who previously has a 17.58 (+20) on his card beating Gougane Jet – was performing on normal going. (He then followed up with a 15.78 at Towcester on Sunday).
Similarly, the clock is irrelevant at Sunderland where Kitty The Step defended her title in a top class A1 which includes Witton Survivor and New Moors Hollie. Paul Miller’s brindle was rated a 3-1 chance and showed great determination after a slower break to clock 27.12.
Moanteen Webby showed little on two visits to Romford but the experience seems to have done him the world of good. The pup took on a decent A1 field at Newcastle on Thursday (Droopys Biggie, Maxie On Fire) and clocked a decent 28.85 on a slow track.
It was very unlikely that the grader would be able to accommodate Pelaw’s defending POW Inniskeel Josie after her FOY run last week. In a contest for ‘best of the rest’, last week’s third, Glenvale Bjorn, stepped up to the plate with a new ‘personal best’ of 25.69
Harlow has been running consistently well in the last fortnight. Nevertheless, the return of open racing does make it easier to interpret form compared to relying on the clock. So due acknowledgement to Aines Elle who was a fair bit quicker than anything else on Wednesday. That’s four wins and a second in her last six outings for Debbie Hurlock’s blue.
But if we are talking about ‘top of the going’, Crayford would be right up there. On Saturday morning Moaning Rossi’s 37.37 was one spot off Antigua Sugar’s FOY and Capel Rose was nine spots slower than Bellmore Sally’s FOY for the 714m. But we’ve got to go for Bubbly Inferno’s 56.15 for the 874, quicker than Bellmore Sally’s two runs in the heats and final of the TV Trophy.
It was a case of ‘good but you are not even the fastest Jezabelle’ at Suffolk Downs on Thursday. Keith Robins’ Naney Jezabelle clocked 34.00 when landing an S1 which makes her the fifth fastest over course and distance this year. Third fastest is half sister Lizzy Jezabelle (33.97). Quickest is track record holder Luna Jezabelle (33.67).
It was a good week for Irish sire Pestana with Taylors Sagar adding to his winning progeny at Swindon. The Angie Kibble trained black clocked a flying 3.98 sectional on his way to the fastest time of the week, 28.37.
The Hove selection is another ‘Sagar’ though the choice is not straightforward. Greeny Dollar’s 29.77 open race win over 500 metres seems ‘was in a very decent field that included Good Havertz, Flight Risk and Untold Yen. But on Saturday, Joes Sagar was the quickest of two decent A1s in a 29.46. The official going allowance for each meeting was ‘normal’ so Belinda Green’s black/white gets the nod.
There was a similar story at Doncaster where where Still On Fire clocked the fastest time of the week, 29.53. However, defending POW Agile Annie took on and beat a decent A1 field that included sister Agile Millie, in 29.73. Fire’s run was on a +20 track, Annie’s was on ‘N’ and in a higher grade. The judge has decided that the holder retains the title.
The clement Yorkshire weather extended as far as Kinsley where the 28.00 barrier was breached five times on Sunday evening. Castlehill Jim (27.74) was the quickest of the bunch, but the ‘performance’ surely has to go to this week’s youngest selection, the 18 month old Ballymac Dom who was just half a length slower.
The Monmore call was also tricky, but a different type of call – between impressive A1 and S1 winners. The latter was Pat Doocey’s Grand Prix finalist Longacres Bullet with a 38.22 run for the 630m. But the selection has to be Brynhall Bocko with a 28.26 run.
If Bullet just missed out, Longacres Serta more than made up for it in Towcester’s stand-out Sunday afternoon open. A 7-1 chance in a field that included Ballymac Taylor and Savana Heross, the brindle narrowly held off the year’s quickest runner over course and distance, (Ballymac Taylor 42.93) by a neck in 43.24. A special mention too for the impressive Brum Cup runner-up Forest Icon with a 29.10 run off the pace over the standard. Depending on commitments – a sub 29.00 run looks to be a formality.
Yarmouth Derby fourth Droopys Sport found himself in A1 company on Monday. But punters were unconvinced and made eliminated semi finalist Alberts Legacy a surprisingly short 1-3f. They were proved right – though not by much. Three quarters of a length to be exact.
Meanwhile Yarmouth’s sprint track record holder Quagos Jack was made a 4-6f to land his Bedfordshire Sprint heat at Henlow on Sunday night. He was turned over by Kilara Elk (16.58) though that run was bettered by Salthill Sniper whose 16.49 is the quickest run of the year (TR 16.23).
