After two successive weeks of being unable to separate the two Hove Cat One winners, it would be churlish to do so after the final. For Sussex Cup winner Newinn Benni, it was the summit of a rise from A4 and the 29.74 was the fourth quickest of the year over course and distance. He also has a best of 29.34 over the standard. For Kent St.Leger finalist Baywatch Bullet, it was her fifth and quickest win in her seven races over course and distance (plus three 2nds). It was also the third quickest time of the year for the six bend trip (FOY Garfiney Blaze 41.12)
The other Cat One decider went to the Pall Mall ante post favourite Aero Sacundai who made it five wins from his last six races. The 26.52 winning time was ‘okay’ but needs to be taken in terms of him not having things all his own way, his sectional was back almost two lengths on his semi final run due to early crowding. A mention too for fellow Monmore raider Magical Luna who took a couple of lengths off Bubbly Inferno’s 847m clock with a 52.21 run.
Meanwhile at Perry Barr, Sacundai’s litter brother Tullymurry Jenga was determined not to be left in the shade as he produced the Performace of the Week with a 28.44 run. Three of the track’s top performers Good Spark, Swizz Star and winner Darley Diglake contested an open which was decided in 28.52. Who needs Cat 1 comps?
But the most prolific Perry Barr open racer this year has to be Kate Harrison’s Different Speed who continues to dominate the POW at Valley. He also heads the ‘Open Race Winners’ table. He extended that further with a 15.98 run on Sunday. That is 18 wins in his last 19 races.
You might argue though, that THE Performance of the Week didn’t belong to a Monmore runner, but a hound competing in Wolverhampton on Saturday night. New Destiny’s 37.09 for the 630 metres, was, according to our records, the second fastest run ever over the distance and was just half a length outside Iceman Brutus’ track record set all the way back in August 2007. Further perspective, nothing has broken 37.20 since. (Fromposttopillar beat Droopys Clue in 37.36 in the 2023 Stayers Classic.)
At least that was the top performance until a challenge was made at 7.24pm and 28.52 seconds on Sunday night when Barntick Bear snatched the most prestigious clock in racing, over Towcester’s Derby course. It was six spots inside the clock jointly held by a Derby winner, a beaten Derby favourite and a Greyhound of the Year!
Such are the vagaries of selecting, the Newcastle selection could have been Wicky Ned landing his second Cat 1 on Thursday, though the 28.81 wasn’t the best run of his career to date. It could have been Antigua Eagle (28.13) with the quickest run of the night. Or Untold Ruble (28.14) with her second Cat 2 win. Instead, we’ve gone for the Heilbron trained puppy Romeo Jackson with a 28.17 run in a supporting open.
You know that when a Sunderland meeting includes winning times of: 27.22, 27.18 and 27.17, the track was in pretty good order. But that is taking nothing about from the impressive 26.93, A1 winning run from Rattling West following a 10 race losing sequence. Perhaps even more noteworthy is that it was his fastest clocking over course and distance in 21 months and 53 races.
Pelaw only stage 10 races per week yet there were 16 lengths between the slowest (27.22) and fastest winners. The quickest of the ten was Brynoffa Pippy with a 25.92 run. But with a mum like hers, winning A1 at Pelaw might be considered a minimum requirement at family get-togethers.
Millbank Boiler, with two preparatory trials over course and distance was backed down to 1/2f to land Nottingham’s top open on Monday night. He led but was picked up by Mike Burton’s Droopys Suprstar (4/1) who pitched up without a trial and following two costly defeats at Valley. No fluke either, 29.73.
We are not above using a cheap cliché in any write-up so are happy to suggest that Breton Molly was in a different county from the rest of the field when winning a Suffolk Downs 548m open on Monday evening. Patrick Janssens’ bitch who boasts 43.14 (712m) at Towcester and 45.25 (714m) at Crayford, completed the course in Suffolk while runner-up Kellsoboro Ava was nearly 19 length over the Cambridgeshire border at Littleport.
From Suffolk to Norfolk and more fast times at Yarmouth with Bonjourno Boy clocking 27.48 for the 462m. Meanwhile, the fastest hound over the trip this year, Swift Depot (27.33) made the switch to six bends and clocked the third fastest 659 of 2024. His 40.79 S1 win completed a four-timer for the John Mullins-trained black.
Times were a little on the slow side for Swindon’s Thursday night opens but the quickest of the four middle-distance events went to Frank Gray’s Towcester A1 winner Beaming Outlaw with a 28.44 run. That’s four wins in his last seven for the former Newbridge hound.
On the subject of winning sequences, Tullymurry Dylan extended his to four win a 13.41 win at Romford on Friday; and he did it in the ‘Tullymurry Dylan Hat Trick’ race. El Hombre Viejo (23.80) and Mad For Sterling (35.23) were the top performers over the four and six bend trips.
Staying in Essex, last week’s top Harlow performer Essjay John has had a week on his bed following his 26.45 run. Only one hound has beaten, or even gone close to that, in the last seven days. Said hound is Debbie Hurlock’s Soul Destroyer who won a three-dog A3 contest in 26.39.
While the position as Harlow’s top dog rotates almost on a weekly basis, Asbo Lenny is the ‘Tony Soprano’ of Central Park. He spent last weekend recovering from the shock of being turned over by Droopys Prymtime. In his absence, Bluejig Jane spent a week thing she was in charge. But he-who-should-not-be-challenged was back on Saturday and put them both in their place. In his last 13 races, that’s nine wins and four seconds (½, ½, 1½, sh).
Keefill Maverick has had a hard apprenticeship having spent his entire career in open company. His first 14 races included three Cat One comps, and seldom staged on tracks or over distances that particularly suited him. But at two years old, that tough grounding can now pay off. On Saturday he returned to Doncaster where he made his debut eight months ago. . . and took off. The winning distance was an ever-extending nine lengths in 29.23, just half a length off the FOY.
The hardest decision this week is to choose between open race winners over four different distances at Sheffield. Sprinter Rocking Taylor made it four wins in his last five with a 15.77 run. Trickys Teddybear (28.86) was quickest over 500m, but not ignoring November pup Ivy Hill Sancho with a 29.00 run. Farneys Willie completed a four-timer in the 660 (38.99). But by playing the ‘defending champ’ card, it has to be Acomb Felix (27.37-480m) who has won his last five at Owlerton over three different distances.
Over in West Yorks, the Kinsley circuit has been running well with four sub28.00 runs on Sunday alone. But times were almost irrelevant since the POW was almost certainly going to emerge from the A2 top head contest in which recent 27.68 winner Sober Ballad was destined to start favourite. But things didn’t go quite to plan with the fawn being KO’d. Canal View Ten took full advantage to romp away in 27.83, which also proved to the quickest run of the week.
The Crayford selection is a choice of three Holloway runners: Harlequin Ernie (23.56) over the four bend jumps, Miss Syd (33.58), the quickest of the six benders and Dazl Rolex over the Golden Jacket course. We’ve edged to the latter. The 44.98 was five lengths off his FOY, but on the basis that having missed his break, he came from fifth place to beat the defending POW Punk Rock Athena by six lengths.
CENTRAL PARK 29.50 491m ASBO LENNY (Confident Rankin-Emers Ivy, Feb 21)
CRAYFORD 44.98 714m DAZL ROLEX (Superior Panama-Razldazl Mya, Nov 21)
DONCASTER 29.23 483m KEEFILL MAVERICK (Droopys Addition-Tarsna Atlanta, Jul 22)
HARLOW 26.39 415m SOUL DESTROYER (Soul-Love Island, Apr 21)
HOVE 29.75 515m NEWINN BENNI (Droopys Sydney-Newinn Cuckoo, Apr 22)
41.51 695m BAYWATCH BULLET (Droopys Sydney-Blundel Spark, May 21)
KINSLEY 27.83 462m CANAL VIEW TEN (Grangeview Ten-Holycross Leah, Aug 21)
MONMORE 37.11 630m NEW DESTINY (Grangeview Ten-Coonough Dolly, Oct 21)
NEWCASTLE 28.17 480m ROMEO JACKSON (Ballymac Cashout-Fabulous Amalfi, Aug 22)
NOTTINGHAM 29.73 500m DROOPYS SUPRSTAR (Droopys Sydney-Droopys Isabella, Sep 22)
OXFORD 26.52 450m AERO SACUNDAI (Ballymac Cashout-Beaming Smasher, Feb 22)
PELAW GRANGE 25.92 435m BRYNOFFA PIPPY (Ballymac Bolger-Roxholme Poppy, Jun 22)
PERRY BARR 28.44 480m TULLYMURRY JENGA (Ballymac Cashout-Beaming Smasher, Feb 22)
ROMFORD 13.41 225m TULLYMURRY DYLAN (Magical Bale-Mysterious Ways, Oct 21)
SHEFFIELD 27.37 480m ACOMB FELIX (Hiya Butt-Acomb Ruby, Mar 21)
SUFFOLK DOWNS 34.23 548m BRETON MOLLY (Ballymac Kingdom-Breton Avril, Jan 22)
SUNDERLAND 26.93 450m RATTLING WEST (Droopys Sydney-Vigorous Channah, Nov 20)
SWINDON 28.44 476m BEAMING OUTLAW (Doolin Duke-Beamingboomerang, Jul 22)
TOWCESTER 28.52 500m BARNTICK BEAR (Droopys Sydney-Barntick Smokey, Apr 22)
VALLEY 15.98 260m DIFFERENT SPEED (Pestana-Fast Dolly, Oct 21)
YARMOUTH 40.79 659m SWIFT DEPOT (Malachi-Swift Causeway, Jun 22)
