A 1-2-3 for Kevin Hutton in the Produce Stakes
There were three runners in the final for the Hutton kennel and they combined for the tricast.
Southfield Poppy led home Union Rebel and Southfield Petal to provide a clean sweep for Kevin Hutton. It was a second winner in the race for her dam Forest Natalee who produced Signet Denver who won the competition in 2022 for Hutton. The three inside runners found trouble at the opening bend with Romeo Cypher and Romeo Crusade for Tom Heilbron in fourth and fifth and Keefill Goose for Phil Milner behind them.
Hutton told us “I’m particularly delighted for Mark (Gilbert). He bought three bitches at six weeks old, so to have first and third in the Produce Stakes with them is incredible really.
“I’m also delighted for Natalee, too. That’s her second Produce Stakes winner and has proved to be as good a brood as she was a racer which is rarely the case.
Jet Stream Angel produced a smart trial before racing last night. She clocked 15.54 (+5) over 262m with Hutton aiming her towards Perry Barr and another crack at the Oaks. She was second past the post in the final last year behind No Rush and adds another layer of intrigue into a deep contest.
Elsewhere on the card there was a fast win for Angie Kibble’s Eze. A 27.96 was the fastest time of the night over 476m there , three spots off the fastest of the year and his third sub 28-second time in 2024. Ballymac Madgie and Kilbrook Turbo, both for Sean Gresham, won the other two Standard heats on the card. Ower Smasher got up on the run-in for land the stayers contest for June Harvey while a maiden sprint race went the way of Robert Short’s Mystical Allie.
Friday night at Romford
The semi-final stage of the Coral Puppy Cup headlines tonight’s card.
***7.44 Romford – Fabulous Sonique (4/5 Coral)
**7.11 Romford – Whitewood Lenny (7/4 Coral)
*8.19 Romford – Newinn Souly (15/8 Coral)
The Coral Romford Puppy Cup take place at the London Road Stadium this evening with three crackers lined up.
Semi-final one at 8.01 sees current favourite Fire And Ice up against the well fancied Untold Rufiyaa who has a better draw this week in trap one. Fire And Ice goes from trap four but the way he is trapping I dont think the draw will cause him too many problems. His acceleration to the bend is impressive and a good break will see him lead and win with Untold Rufiyaa chasing him home in second. Golden Bullet was a good winner last week and looks set to go well from a wider than usual draw in trap six but I am with Fire and Ice and Untold Rufiyaa to qualify.
Semi-final two at 8.19 is a more open affair. Newinn Souly was beaten fairly by Roanna Mamba but can make amends this evening by using a good draw in trap five to his advantage. Gingers Prince and Swift Underwater could come together early inside Newinn Souly and that can pave the way for him to dominate this semi final with the strong running Droopys Maybe in trap one staying on to finish second and qualify.
The third semi at 8.36 sees another trap five well fancied. Roanna Mamba beat a really strong field in the opening round last week and can follow up by winning again here. He should clear Droopys Fiadh and Amys Gem either side of him and if he does he should win with On The Banks also making it through to next weeks decider.
The Nap of the evening is a bitch in fantastic form winning her last six starts over tonight’s track and trip. Fabulous Sonique runs from trap two at 7.44 and the way she is trapping she is going to be hard to beat again.
The next best runs in the 7.11 over 400m. Whitewood Lenny goes from trap five where I am hoping he traps as well as he has been out of the stripes. It doesn’t look as strong a race as Whitewood Lenny has been in recently so he is another if timing the start right he should lead and go onto win.
A King, a Queen and three bullets
Liz McNair had a Thursday night sprint double at Hove while Belinda Green had a treble.
Both Queen Joni and King Capaldi were fluent winners in sprint contests on the card. Each of them dipped under 16.30 in their return to race action. A 16.21 for Joni and a 16.28 for Capaldi put both of them into the top 10 fastest times of the year over 285m.
Belinda Green enjoyed a treble on the card. Brunswick Bullet, Bingo Bullet and Barbie Bullet all greeted the judge in front. Lossies Ace and Burrows Trigger scored a double on the evening for Jason Heath.
Candolim Monsoon continues to produce a solid level of form on a weekly basis for Derek Knight, landing a 500m contest in 29.42. That is now five wins in 10 starts since returning from what had looked like a career ending injury. Knight was also on the scoresheet with Rapido Veinte.
The fastest of the night over six bends was Jamie Kingsley’s Etta’s Dream, producing a 41.83 run. Others winners on the night were Gingers Rubin for Patrick Browne and Princess Athena for Tony Collett.
Trainer and Breeder Jennifer O’Donnell plants a kiss on her 2023 BoyleSports Irish Greyhound Derby champion, The Other Kobe at Shelbourne Park
Four weeks until the Irish Derby
The Shelbourne refurbishment is ready to wow the world as the Derby countdown is down to 28 days.
The race is starting to shape up into its usual outstanding contest. With a newly refurbished track and museum for fans to enjoy, the 2024 Irish Derby is going to be special. You can buy tickets from Shelbourne Park to make sure that you don’t miss out on the biggest event of the year in Ireland.
Selected latest prices
7/1 Bockos Diamond, Callaway Knegare 10/1 De Lahdedah 25/1 Boylesports Bob, Deadly Choice, Droopys Mandolin, House Martin, Knockeen Dazzler, Yorkie Ollie
Gone To The Dogs – Live! at Yarmouth
Thank you again to everyone who tuned in on Wednesday night for the test pilot of the new show.
We have a good list of what needs to be improved ahead of the second show. News on that will hopefully be coming soon!
There were a number of messages from ex owners both on the night and since to say it made them want to buy again for these big nights. That is one of the biggest compliments anyone could give. Any owners returning to the sport is a huge plus and we hope that making the big nights even bigger will encourage more.
Floyd was busy phoning around to get some thoughts from people.
Burridge Trophies have been the supplier to the sport for a long time. Mark Burridge had this to say about the new venture.
The amount of help that we received from Simon Franklin at Yarmouth to be able to put on the show was monumental. The entire Yarmouth Stadium team were superb both during the Tuesday setup day and on Wednesday, our thanks to them.
Garry Nash of Premier Greyhound Racing is one of the busiest men in the sport, we were happy he had time for a brief chat.
There were a number of runners on the night bought out of the Greyhound Trader sales, run by Nathan Corden. Droopys Halley won on the night for Craig Morris with Gary The Arb, Good Steel, Glideaway Hugo, Fratton Bark and Garnacanty Girl also purchased from the sales. The next sale is on Monday and the catalogue is on their site.
Paul Scally has passed away
The man responsible for the famous Cabra prefix has passed away.
It has been a tough couple of months for Irish racing. Owners of some of the most famous prefixes the sport has seen have sadly passed and Scally is another. Cabra Firmino, Cabra Buck and Cabra Hurricane are some of his better known stars.
The former set some flashy times and sired some open race winners. The middle was an Irish Derby finalist and held the 550y track record at Clonmel for more than five years. The latter won the Longford Derby and was runner-up in the Bar One Sprint.
Son Paddy continues the line with some smart types of his own. Cabra Castro and Cabra Venon clocked the fourth and fifth quickest times of the year over 330y at Thurles last Saturday. The fastest of the year so far? Cabra Keiser, seven spots off the track record.
Stats
- My Uncle Bill – 3.13 Newcastle – 6/11 in A6 grade.
- Emers Macie – 7.41 Sunderland – 9/15 running from trap one in D2 grade.
- Foxrock Donie – 8.48 Clonmel – 7/11 when running from trap five.
- Tullymurry Dylan – 8.54 Romford – 7/10 in opens at Romford.
- Headinthewindow – 8.57 Shelbourne – 6/7 in this class.
- Lissatouk Dave – 10.35 Galway – 6/8 when running in A2 grade.
Opens
Friday: Romford
Saturday: Central Park♦ Doncaster♦ Perry Barr
Sunday: Crayford♦ Sheffield
