BRITISH PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

The headline act hardly takes any guessing this week. A first Category One win and a new 712m track record for Salacres Pippy in the Stadium Bookmakers Hunt Cup at Towcester. That’s ten wins and seven seconds in her last 20 races.

The Saturday morning Crayford card produced several impressive performances for different reasons. Warzone Tom lost lengths after checking at the first bend in his Gold Collar heat. Alaskan Dawn produced the best 874m run in a couple of years. But we have to edge it to the August ‘16 hurdler Toughest Test who was only 19 spots slower than a Collar heat winner when landing a £500 final.

Thursday night’s ARC Classic semi finals saw all three favourites eliminated though that takes nothing away from the fastest winner in the competition to date, Stuart Tighe’s Mindhowyougo.

They were all there at Nottingham on Monday. Defending Performer of the Week Toast Of Sydney, former winners Ramor Jet and Churchill Holly. But the new champ is Chelms Switch (the artist formerly known as exciting Irish pup Droopys Dorado) in a very respectable 29.58. Switch’s litter brother Droopys Rey was a 28.79 A1 winner at Newcastle on Thursday, a time that was only eclipsed on Saturday by Raymond Hales’ new arrival, Cheerful Mike.

Another new Irish arrival Point Of Law blew the opposition away at Perry Barr on Thursday with a 28.34 run. The Alec Stone trained pup, who has the joint fourth fastest 525 of the year at Drumbo (28.49), had a 28.65 Perry Barr sighter but was still returned at 13-2. At the opposite end of the betting scale, Matt Dartnall’s Letter Pat was returned at 4-9f when completing a Central Park hat-trick in a calculated 28.90.

The Harlow selection March On Henry picks himself when extending his winning sequence over course and distance to five in an impressive 26.18. Liberty Belle made it three in a row with a calculated 28.15 run at Monmore. Her brother Boca Junior was half a length away from adding the Swindon nomination, but found one too good in kennelmate Magical Ezra.

One reigning champ who was turned over this week was Henlow’s Layton Shrek. The 33.26 open race winner last week was beaten by 33.29 S1 winner Baby Bullet.

Romford’s Friday night times were slightly on the slow side, hence Droopys Addition’s seven length 35.32 run was better than might appear on clock judgment alone. The Essex Vase runner-up has a best of 34.80 at his peak.

Kent Derby winner Galaxy Freedom made a return to A1 company and clocked the best 500 of the week at Hove on Saturday, but instead the nod goes to Slippy Eva, winner of a rare S1 by seven lengths.

The Sheffield four bend dogs were ‘much of a muchness’ this week so we are looking at the only runner to break the 16.00 barrier for the sprint, the ex-Monmore D1 runner, Master Roo. At Doncaster, Brennans Buick, runner-up to last week’s selection Burns Night took full advantage of his absence to land the sole A1.

Few tracks are more consistent than Yarmouth. When the weather is decent, the A1 winner tend to clock around the 27.70-27.80 mark. When its cold and wet, they are around 20 spots slower. This week the fastest four times were 27.90, 27.93, 27.94, 27.98. The quickest of the quartet was the serial A1 performer Roxys Teddy (PB 27.73 +30)

Also over 462, Quo Vadis went into Sunday’s A2 race with the second fastest time of the year on his card at Kinsley, 27.46. He now has the fastest. There was an identical story for Marinas Artist, second fastest at Pelaw Grange until Sunday, but now the quickest after a 25.50 run.