By any standards, a meeting which features two Cat One events – the £20,000 PGR Regency and the £10,000 Coral Sussex Cup – plus two Cat Two finals, the £5,000 Coral sponsored Springbok and the £3,000 Sussex Sprint Cup Trophy – is a bit special.
Hove’s Saturday night’s card, featuring 10 open races over five different distances is the sort of meeting that reminds owners, trainers and racegoers the reason for their participation in the sport.
To go through the card, we have enlisted the help of ‘Romford Rob’ Abrey, now Racing Manager at the posh seaside venue, for his views on tonight’s open race action.
Rob said: “The Regency Consolation is most likely to go to the unluckiest dog not to make the final, Lightfoot Falcon. He led all the way, bar the line in the semi final and was picked up by two outstanding greyhounds (Space Jet/Savana Heross). Logic says that there is nothing in that race of their calibre, so he has to be the selection. 4-1-6.
Rob said: “This is an exceptionally good sprint final and virtually impossible to split them. Quarteira will be the shortest with the books, (Sister) Kilara Ivy is coming off a narrow defeat following a four timer. Droopys Roster has only had two races and looks one for the future, though that may be over four bends. So, to a certain extent I am going with head and heart. Molly Maid is a great local favourite and ideally drawn on the rail.” 1-3-5
Rob said: “A genuine consolation comprising beaten semi finalist including a couple who were expected to make the final. Drive On Lad would appear well drawn on the inside. Four From Two is possibly even better drawn on the outside and has bags of early. We all know how fast Bale Out is when she gets it right, but I am going for the Derby finalist and last year’s Sussex Cup winner Ninja Kerry to come back to his best.” 4-5-1
Rob said: “I have been really delighted with the calibre of entry for our first Springbok. I think 18 runners is just about ideal to keep it competitive. Most of the dogs have been well schooled but even some of the more advanced Crayford dogs have taken a couple of runs to adapt to our hurdles.
“I want to keep hurdle racing going but I am conscious of novices being putting off when Ricky (Holloway) turns up with experienced dogs like Lenson Doolin and scares them off. So the plan is to stage some maiden hurdle opens and see if it enourages trainers to take a chance. We’ve got a couple lined up and will see how it goes.
“Patterdale Zorro has done nothing wrong and looks a worthy favourite (2-1). You could make a similar case for Droopys Chaser (5-2). Bearing in mind these are all novices, I think the value appears to be Coppice Fox (8-1) who is probably the fastest on the flat and looks open to the most improvement. 5-2-4
Betting: 2-1 Patterdale Zorro, 5-2 Droopys Chaser, 7-2 Ritzy Flyer, 8-1 Coppice Fox, 8-1 Miind Your Toes, 10-1 Distant George
Rob said: “There are some absolute cracking pups in here including the Seasons Scaffolding Puppy Cup winner Ballymac John. I liked the look of King Combs in his trial, a lovely action, though he is giving away experience to these. The best drawn pup is probably Tomos Bullet. But I am going to go with (beaten Seasons Scaffolding favourite) Maree Champion, hoping he can get a clear run to the bend. 2-1-6.
Rob said: “What a race including three local runners. Fromposttopillar has three Cat One wins and hardly needs an introduction. He and Droopys Google both contested the Derby Plate and Kent Plate Finals. Wasted Monday is the one with the most potential given his age and three wins from six races. No Rush is super consistent and running in her fourth Cat One final, including the Brighton Belle where she started favourite.
Stellas Fruity is the big outsider but is hugely popular here because she is just such a trier. Overall though, another slight decision from the heart and it has to be Candolim Monsoon, trained by Derek Knight who has won it four times (Astrosyn Eulogy, Smoking Bullet x 2, Lozzas Dream) and last won the competition in 2002. Monsoon has been around for a while but has really burst into life in his last few runs. He is drawn on the rail and looks decent value at 4-1. 1-5-4
Betting: 11-8 Posttopillar, 4-1 Candolim Monsoon, Droopys Google, Wasted Monday, 7-1 No Rush, 33-1 Stellas Fruity
Rob said: “A few unknowns in here, most notably Hollow Man who could be anything. And the opposite, Greedy Punter is well known to the locals and can produced fast times when he gets it right. You would have to give Ballysy Bullet a chance on the draw. He is definitely open to improvement. I quite like Macho Camacho but the draw hasn’t been kind. All of which leads me to Broadstrand Noah who still hasn’t won but has the opportunity to do so based on the draw. 1-2-6
Rob said: “What a great feat for Matt Dartnall to get three through to the final and all drawn together. A lot will depend on how they sort themselves out early on. We are hoping for slightly better going this week. The rain was bad for the heats. Last week, it was more about strong gusts of wind as much as the rain. That could play into the hands of Lively Lauren if she gets on the bunny, though she only held off Bubbly Scorcher by half a length.
“You would expect Swiper to get a decent run on the rail. Savana Heross was only a neck adrift of Space Jet in the semis so his chances are there to be seen. But on the basis that there are five railers and some crowding is inevitable, and on the golden rule that you never underestimate a Wallis dog in a final, I’m just going to edge it to Jacktavern Magic.
“But should Space Jet be anywhere on the premises coming around the last bend, you can expect the grandstand roof to come off.” 6-3-2
Betting: 2-1 Lively Lauren, Space Jet, 5-1 Jacktavern Magic, Savana Heross, 10-1 Bubbly Scorcher, 14-1 Swiper
Rob said: “All the form suggests Ritzy Spirit in here. This is slightly different to Crayford where he is exceptional, but he is one of the best hurdlers in training.” 5-3-6
Rob said: “The lucky last features the last two winners of the Brighton Belle, Whats Up Eva and Betsys Bullet and I would expect both to play a big role in the race. On the draw, I would just favour Eva. I would expect a decent run from Rathnagore Syd who loves Hove and is now back on his preferred distance. It really could go to any of the six though.” 2-3-1
