Certain favourite Moanteen Mikey will get the Greta Garbo treatment for next week’s ARC Classic Final after impressively taking the fastest semi final on Thursday night at Sunderland.
Connections will be hoping it will be ‘third time Sunderland lucky’ for Angela Harrison’s All England Cup winner who finished fourth in last year’s ARC Puppy Trophy and was runner-up in the same year’s ARC Classic decider behind Narcos The Great. The semis also featured a near 8-1 double for Gary Hamilton thanks to Breachmore Patch and Tell Boy.
Sunderland Racing Manager Joe Frelford said: “I can’t see past Mikey. It isn’t ideal having five railers but I can see him away and gone on the outside. Overall the traps haven’t worked out too bad. Move Over Cha looks well enough drawn in three; the only dog I would definitely have changed if it had been a graded race would have been Tell Boy on the inside. I think he would want to be drawn further out.
“Moanteen Mikey is particularly nervous and we have done our best to accomodate him. Angela (Harrison) asked if he could go on parade early so she can take him into the middle of the track and away from the crowd. When there were a few fireworks about in the area, I asked Angela whether it would affect him. They didn’t bother him one bit apparently; its people that he isn’t very keen on.”
