Droopys Buick was easily the fastest qualifier and Bubbly Bluebird’s winning sequence came to an end – the two main talking points of the Betfred Eclipse Stakes first round at Nottingham on Monday night.
The first heat saw Droopys Country (T5) go to traps as the 5-4f, but the race would be dominated by Shaneboy Freddie (T1 5-2) after a decent break. In a messy race he would come home just over seven clear of Garryglass Champ (T6 7-2) with Revio Bob (T3 20-1) a further length back in third.
Heat 2 was also dominated by the three early leaders headed by Peregrine Falcon (T4 9-4f), Stay Lucky (T5 5-1) and Minglers Thunder (T3 5-2). The winner clocked 29.67 and the distances a length and a half and two and a half.
Heat 3 would prove the slowest of the night, even though it was dominated by the top three in the market. The messy encounter eventually went to Ballymac Mossjoe (T1 4-5f) who led home Ballymac Darragh (T5 7-2) and Maglass Razzle (T6 4-1) in 29.96. The first four winning margins were all ‘hd’ with Pointless Pearl (T4), Sawpit Sunshine (T3) and La Carbonero (T2) completing the field.
The performance of the night came from Droopys Buick (T3 2-9f) in heat four. Jimmy Wright’s white jacketed runner was led marginally by Be Up Front (T5) before powering on for a five length victory over Oakfield Caesar (T6 10-1) with Swift Carter (T2 14-1) finishing third. The winner’s time was 29.24, an identical clock to his previous solo trial on identical (+40) going.
Heat five saw betting of 16-1 bar the fancied three in the betting with Kildallon Bolt (T5 6-4f) the market leader. But it was second favourite Pinpoint Boss (T6 2-1) who came out on top after catching Shaneboy Style (T3 16-1) at the third bend. Sussex Cup winner Barricane Tiger (T1 5-2) finished just under four lengths adrift of the 29.53 winner with the favourite snatching third.
The night’s biggest shock came in the final heat where Bubbly Bluebird (T2 1-1f) was hoping to complete an 11-timer. But it was the locally trained Steel City Cup winner Tynwald Baz (T3 6-1) who caused the upset with a faultless front running performance. He beat the favourite by just under four lengths in 29.56 with Fourpenny Blaze (T4 14-1) just taking third place from Oscar Whisky (T5 2-1).
