“He is normally such a quiet sad character that he is know around the kennel as Eeyore. I’ve just seen him fly around the field twice like a lunatic. I’m absolutely baffled”

Neither was the fastest semi final qualifier – that honour went to Michelle Brown’s Perrys Choice with a 34.96 run – but the exploits of King Dylan and King Lennon have added a layer of interest to next week’s Coral Essex Vase Final.

Eeyore

On Friday night at Romford, the Liz McNair trained pair, plus brother King Cash, went to traps for the fifth time in 19 days. Although Cash was eliminated after a very slow trap exit, Lennon and Dylan finished 1-2 in the third semi final with Dylan – otherwise known as Eeyore – producing a stunning run to qualify.

Click on the results below to review races.

They pair are due to contest Tuesday night’s BGBF British Bred Derby semi at Sheffield and assistant trainer Rab McNair feels entirely justified in running the brother in two competitions concurrently.

On Saturday morning he said: “I have to be honest, I am absolutely baffled. When you are around the dogs all the time, your form an opinion about them and I thought they would go well with the extra running. But to see the pair of them running around the field this morning as though they haven’t raced in a month, is just too hard to understand.

“Dylan’s behaviour is just bizarre. Most of the time, you would think about taking him to a psychiatrist. He wonders around the kennel, doesn’t show a lot of interest in anything. Today, he is wagging his tail and jumping around like a puppy. Lennon is nearly as bad. They are like absolute nutcases.

“I am not thinking any further than Tuesday at the moment, but on what I see so far, I couldn’t be happier with their preparation.”