Two dogs is very different stages of their careers trialled for Kevin Hutton at Swindon today – and both brought cause for optimism.
Greyhound of the Year Dorotas Wildcat covered the 480m course in 28.48 (-20) when beating kennelmate Dalcash Behold by six and a quarter lengths.The runner-up has won his last two A1s at Monmore.
The next fastest time of the day was Druids Busy Man’s 29.12 on similar going. He had clocked 28.82 (-10) the previous week.
The meeting also featured the first handslip for Forest Chunk, following an eight month lay-off. The Henlow record holder/Golden Spring winner sustained a broken hock in the semi finals of the William Hill Classic last July.
Kevin said: “I am very pleased with Wildcat’s run because he missed his break slightly. As we expected, he is a year old and taking a little longer to get back to his best. Although Behold is a decent dog, Wildcat took a couple of strides more to catch him on the way to the bend than I was expecting.
“It is only a couple of weeks since he did a calculated 15.93 for the sprint, so he is hardly struggling, though I suspect that he might have a bit less early this year. He also cramped slightly at the end.
“I was very happy with Chunk. We have put a lot of galloping into him at home and he flew along the backstraight. He is slightly sore since the trial, but that is pretty much expected when dogs have their first trial back after a broken hock. Providing he recovers okay, he will be back next week for a sprint.”
