A year after an apparent career ending hock injury in the first round of the Coral Regency, Billys Bullet stormed through to the 2016 final with the fastest semi final victory.
Drawn blue in the first qualifier, the 2-1jf (14.47 sect) was led up by Romeo Storm (T1) who crossed the first winning line in 14.43. The Wallis runner then surged into the lead at the third bend. He duly held off the determined finish of Jet Stream Trail by a length and a quarter in 41.94 (-45)
The second semi final was won impressively by Dan Brabon’s 4-6f Digby Mia. The impressive first round winner proved it was no fluke when smashing out of the striped box in a 14.37 sectional. There was little between the rest of the pack and by the winning line runner-up Droopys Flash (T1 5-1) was a black nod under 10 lengths adrift. Black Francis (T3) finished lame.
The third qualifier went to Leger winner Fizzypop Buddy (4-7f), also from stripes, but was dominated in the early stages by the blue jacketed 20-1 chance Mustang Chick (14.14) and the red jacketed 5-2 second favourite Patchys Kerry. June Harvey’s favourite still had plenty to do on the last half circuit but the leading pair were treading water from the last bend onwards and the favourite powered away for a near five length win over Fabulous Model in 42.04 (-45).
Final draw: 1) Jet Stream Trail, 2) Fabulous Model, 3) Droopys Flash, 4) Billys Bullet, 5) Digby Mia-w, 6) Fizzypop Buddy-w.
Mark Wallis trainer of Billys Bullet said: “To be honest it has been a fairy story just to get Billy through to the final. There are a lot of uneducated people out there who suggested that the dog was finished and it was wrong to keep him going. But they don’t know what goes on behind the scenes.
“For example he was spiked in his race at Sheffield, so we trialled him at Henlow and he produced an average trial so we laid him off another fortnight.
“Yes, we know he isn’t the dog he was, but we should expect that irrespective of the injury in the first round last year. He was two years old when he was smashing out of the traps; he is that much older and his running style has changed. Older dogs also take longer to reach full fitness. He is a very clever dog though and the slow going played right into his hands last night.
“I don’t know whether he can win the final. I would love to see him come away in front, but don’t know whether that is still possible. But if he can take the lead before about the 500 metre mark, then he would have a great chance. I know the gap was closing in the semi, but Billy is a battler and would have found a bit more if necessary. If he leads at any stage, I can’t see anything coming from behind him.”
The rest of the kennel news was mixed with Black Francis being retired after damaging a gracillis (the fleshy muscle on the inside of the hind leg).
Wallis said: “Thankfully, they managed to stop him after the first half lap so there wasn’t too much damage done. He will be retired as a pet after a fantastic career. He might not have been one of the kennel stars but he reached a serious a big race finals and won plenty of category threes during an extensive career.
“As for Patchys Kerry, there are no inquests, she simply didn’t stay that distance on that going. Quite a few of the bitches struggled on the night which worked in favour of the big striding dogs. Kerry has had a tough campaign and will be off for around three weeks before we head to Sunderland.”
