BRITISH PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

They might not have come in boats, but raiders from the North East pillaged the West Midlands like Vikings when taking the glut of the big prizes at Monmore on Saturday.

While the case can be made for at least four of the winners, we have to edge it to Stuart Tighe’s Minglers Popeye. The time was some way off his best, but it was his fourth win in a row. He produced a perfect ‘catch me if you can’ run in the final, and it is great to see some new faces on the podium.

The Newcastle form of Tom Heilbron’s Little Venture is ‘decent’ with a best of 28.69. But he is even better away from home. Wins at Sunderland (26.87-450m), and Perry Barr (28.48-480m) have now extended to Sheffield’s 480 metre course where he clocked a very respectable 27.64 first look.

Meanwhile back at base, the opposite is true of Potent Touch. Angela Harrison’s 30kg black is a ‘home banker’ as he further demonstrated with his latest A1 win in 28.49 – his sixth consecutive victory at ‘Brough Park’.

Nothing has got within four lengths of Little Venture’s best Sunderland run this week. Quickest from a string of ’27 thirties’ was Pennylane Darrs whose local record to date is exceptional. He has won his last three in a row, but his overall stats at the track, over two different distances, graded and open, are 14 races, 6 wins, 7 seconds, 1 fifth. Not bad considering he was already an ageing veteran when he graded in!

Staying in the North East, another ex-Newcastle grader, Dromkeen Storm is also appreciating a few less metres at a smaller track. Formerly a fading A8 hound, and now contesting A2 at Pelaw, the lightweight pup recorded the fastest time of the week on Sunday.

The day’s feature event, the Stadium Bookmakers Marathon Final at Towcester saw Savana Volcano strike back at her great rival Aayamza Royale. To put the run into perspective, the winning time was 58.27, a PB on going rated +45. Royale’s track record in 58.15 on +40 going. Though if you really wanted to complicate it, Volcano has the fastest calculated time, 58.41 (N).

Henlow also save their best races for their Sunday meeting where Indigo Diamond landed the A1, The Other Regal took the S1, but with the fourth fastest sprint of the year, the nomination has to go to Poker Man.

With young dogs you are often confronted with the question ‘will he stay when he gets older’. Trumps Benefit will absolutely stay longer than the in-laws, but that won’t be proven until next year. In the meantime, a brilliant opening run of 29.86 in the Puppy Classic suggests there are big prizes over four bends first.

We seldom duplicate selections but had no choice last week when the sole A1 resulted in a dead heat. This week, the fastest semi of the British Bred Oaks and another dead-heat. Barnside Millie and Acomb Lillian clocked a very decent 29.73 and there was only a short head between them in the heats.

But that was an easy decision compared to Swindon on Sunday when the fastest five winners over the standard clocked 28.36, 28.34 (x2) and 28.33 (x2). Sharing the quickest run were Headford Flash and a regular Hove POW winner Do It Eli.

Harlow form has always been difficult to follow with lower grades often clocking faster times than higher ones and plus a few fluctuations in going. By rule of thumb though, ‘if you beat Indian Trump around his own gaff, you won’t be far away’. Step forward Trump’s kennelmate Quadrilateral.

A group of quite similar performances over different distances at Romford. A 13.42 sprint run for Scala Omera was in the shake-up, along with a 35.30 (575) for Easy Eyes. But just edging it with a 23.81 run over the four bend course was Carter Bar. However, Derek Knight’s runner wasn’t the only littermate to shine this week. Montrose won on Monday and on Saturday, the latter being the fastest time of the week at Yarmouth. The pair are of course half brothers to the ‘Queen of Romford’, Chopchop Hope.

Perry Barr has been running particularly well lately and ex-Towcester A3 winner winner Billis Nipper produced an open class 28.46 when seeing of a decent A1 field on Saturday.

Struggled a bit at Crayford this week. In the end, just edged it to another of Darren Whitton’s ex-Harlow runners, Moaning Sabba with the week’s best 540 run in a Saturday night maiden.

Hove staged four A1s this week with two being won by ‘Bullets’. Quicker of the pair – and quicker than defending champ Doorus Jet – was Biggie Bullet with a career best 29.55.

Kinsley A2 winner Cloneen Alba was the only runner to successfully defend his POW title with an even quicker run, a hat-trick creating 27.54.

The fastest time of the year for Centrai Park’s fabulous 500m course belongs to Perrysblueyedboy with a 29.94 run. On Sunday, Ballyregan Raven clocked 30.24 – on going rated at -60!.