BRITISH PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

Only one place to start, ‘that race’ at Hove, the track record breaking run of Aayamza Royale in the Coral TV Trophy at Hove.

Sunday has emerged as a major open race night and this week was a good example. Impossible to split were the identical Oaks semi final winners Queen Jessiej and Newinn Liz. Earlier in the day, Surprising set the standard win the semi finals of the Puppy Derby at Towcester.

The Central Park card was a little more basic this week, but Southfield Code extended his record over course and distance to eight from nine (plus a short head defeat). Kennelmate, Signet Mafia should soon be re-joining Code on the open race scene following his impressive second graded race back at Monmore on Saturday.

Patrick Janssens is now unstoppable in the Trainers Championship and he will be hoping to add to his Cat 1 successes over ‘the short four bends’ in 2021 with Bockos Jon Jo, who followed up recent Romford 400 23.53 and 23.55 victories with a 23.67 run.

Invariably the oldest POW will come from the Monday night Nottingham card and this week that guides us to the quickest run in the first round of the National Sprint and Geelo Coney.

The Yarmouth choice Swift Sabbath is the only sub 28.00 winner of the week, and also a product of Ian Greaves’ Monasterevin champion factory (as was last week’s winner Swift Nando).

It isn’t often that a 23.71 run would be good enough for a Crayford nomination, but with nothing breaking 23.30, we decided to be inventive and go for Ballymac Yoyo’s first A1 win, just 378 days and 34 races after winning an A10 on debut, and including every intermediate grade.

From the easiest four bends to the toughest. Forget Hove 515, we are talking Doncaster 483 after the weather has done its worst (-100) and the top A2 going to another Liam Dowling bred hound, Ballymac Johnsie. The same Yorkshire weather affected Kinsley where only three runners broke 28.00 for the 462 metres. Quickest of them was puppy Highview Lunar. Fortunately, Sheffield’s big open race card took place earlier in the week before the worst of the rain, still a great run for Elderberry Sky in the British Bred Derby though.

The North East doesn’t appear to have been so badly hit, as proven by a 15.70 run by Eden Hermes at Sunderland, only five spots behind Sporting Galileo’s quickest of the year.

On November 16 2019, Jet Stream Socks clocked the fastest 480 of the year at Perry Barr (28.28). On Saturday he produced a very impressive 27.69 (-40) in A1 at Henlow. Go back even further to July 2018 and Droopys Trapper broke the Sunderland 450m track record in 26.49. He might be a couple of lengths slower these days, though a 28.43 (-20) A1 win at Newcastle suggests there is plenty of life in the old boy yet.

Two of the choices scraped it by a single spot on the clock , Barnagrane Vic was quickest at Harlow, Derrytagh Razzy edged it at Pelaw.

Until Saturday, Droumeragh Jake and Going Through jointly headed the Perry Barr winner’s table for 2020. They have now been joined by Power Customer whose 10 wins have come from 28 races.