For an event that struggled to fill, the BGBF British Bred Oaks Final could barely see a closer final – and that isn’t just because five of the six finalists were born within 20 miles of each other.
The clue is in the last two lines of form of the two chief protagonists Barnside Millie and Acomb Lillian who were practically inseparable in the heats and totally inseparable in the semis.
Millie will be joined by the Russanda sisters, Lillian sister’s Jenny will be there with the Leicestershire bred Fabulous Amalfi feeling like a trespasser at a private Yorkshire event.
So how does joint racing manager Nathan Sheppard think the draw worked out?
“I don’t know how you split them really. I definitely think the draw has favoured Millie. Her and Lillian are on the opposite sides of each other from the semis and it would have been how I would place them if it had been a graded race. In fact, I think Millie is the best drawn runner in the final.
“But anybody who thinks this is a two-runner final couldn’t be further wrong. If the two short priced runners hold each other up, Acomb Jenny has the early pace to slip around the outside.
“But if I was looking for a dark horse, it would be Russanda June, in three. So far she hasn’t shown the sort of early that she has produced over 450. She has been running on strong, but I have no doubt she can do it from the front too.
“I’m delighted that we managed to stage the race. We just about scraped the 18 runners together when we were looking for 24, but it has always been a good competition here in the past. Thankfully it has worked out well again.”
The open races were scheduled just as pressure has eased on the Doncaster kennel strength.
Nathan said: “We were a bit tight, but not too bad and possibly better off than many other tracks with 300 dogs available. But it the space of ten days we lost 50 with the cough and 20 bitches in season. Thankfully we appear to be over the worst though it doesn’t look as though the cough has fully disappeared just yet.”
