RPGTV Juvenile day at Towcester racecourse with the main event worth £5000 to the winner. With 9 supporting opens on the card all bar the TRC sponsored finale supported by the RPGTV brand there is plenty for enthusiasts and punters alike to enjoy.
The open race action gets underway at 212pm with a 270m sprint. Tom Heilbron’s Freedom Whiskey looks the pick to make all. He’s just the one look around the circuit which came on Derby semi-final night last year when finishing a short head second to the pacey Mr Roo in a respectable 1595. He’s maintained a high level of form since then. He landed a small sprint competition at Nottingham at the end of February and though beaten into second place 3 times since then he’s been far from disgraced. John Mullins Knocknaseed Gem is a high-class sort around this venue and on the best of his form would likely have been a marginal selection. He was pulled out of an intended sprint engagement at Romford a few weeks ago however and his subsequent x lame trial over 400m at the same venue was acceptable without being anything special. He might just need the run and on that basis Heilbron’s charge is selected to flash out and make all.
A good class 500m standard at 232pm can go to Liz McNair’s Feora Noel. Beaten on Towcester debut behind Drumcrow Brent last week he showed plenty of pace in behind. Missing the kick he suffered trouble at many points throughout the race and by the time he did get clear around the final bend the race was already over. He’ll have to trap a lot more smartly than last week but if doing so he should have enough early to make the bend in front and from that point on can set about recording a fair clock. If the selection does trap then that would leave plenty of space for Richard Rees strong running Amaze Me Seb to follow him around and fill the forecast spot.
A 500m maiden at 252pm and Paul Burr looks to have found a decent opportunity for Drumdoit Flo to shed her maiden open tag at the first time of asking. A consistent sort in the top two grades at Yarmouth she isn’t always the quickest away from traps but does have a break in her. This isn’t the best of maidens and a break should be all she needs with potentially just an eye on the chasing pace of Ian Walker’s Hello Patch to keep an eye on.
A good class 712m stayers’ event at 311pm can go to Richard Yeates Ranchers Tigger. A superb always led winner of a course and distance maiden here in February she suffered defeat in a couple of races here and at Hove respectively before returning to form at the latter venue with a facile 8 length top grade success last time out. Tigger should be away and gone from these with any kind of break and will be extremely difficult to then reel in. Paul Young’s Bubbly Tomahawk is fast over both 4 and 6 bends when he gets a run as a 2943 trial here last week highlights but he can find his fair share of trouble when in behind dogs and whether he could give a start and a beating to something of the class of Tigger is highly debateable.
The £5000 to the winner RPGTV Juvenile at 328pm and as usual it’s a high-class affair. Paul Young’s Bubbly Apache is no doubt drawn wider than ideal out in trap 6 but his early pace can see him overcome the draw and hit the lead before they reach the turn. Being out in trap 6 wouldn’t be for Apache on too many occasions but the make-up of today’s race could have been far worse. Carol Weatherall’s Trumps Benefit drawn to his immediate left wouldn’t be the quickest into stride and his other rivals should all be seeking positions nearer the rail than not. Young’s greyhound showcased his class in 2021 with victory in the Puppy Classic at Nottingham being followed up by a final appearance in the Eclipse at the same venue. He’s a high-class sort and can have his loyal army of supporters roaring him home from a long way out.
Standard company over 500m at 348pm and despite a number of eye-catching runs in recent weeks from the greyhound I consider to be one of and most likely the fastest improving runner in the UK it may well be that Antigua Bigun is still being slightly underrated in some quarters. Mark Wallis’s runner has done very little wrong in rattling off a course and distance five timer in recent weeks and his last time out 2929 effort when holding off the strong running Candy Man all the way to the pick-up was undoubtedly a career best yet. There is no saying where the improvement will stop although on last week’s showing he’d not need to be doing much more in order to beat most greyhounds put before him. Kennel mate Drumcrow Brent returned to something like his best with an excellent victory here last week and he can follow the selection home plotting his usual wide course to fill the forecast spot.
Maiden action over 500m at 408pm and it’s surely only a matter of time before Jason Bloomfields Savana Camino lands a race of this nature. He does lack a yard of early but crucially can secure first run on the pair drawn inside him and then set about reeling in the early paced duo of Bubbly Booster and Unlikely Flame trained by Paul Young and Seamus Gaughan respectively.
Back to standard 500m company at 428pm and Richard Yeates loyal and classy servant Faughan Rebel can put a couple of odds-on defeats over the past couple of weeks behind him with success here. He’ll reach 5 years old later this year but remains in good form and with any kind of run should prove too good for his rivals.
The greyhounds head to traps for more 500m standard action at 448pm and Mark Wallis can be on the winner’s podium again with his Balterio selected to prove too strong for some decent rivals. He does lack a yard of early but he’s shown himself well capable of back running some decent rivals in recent times and on this occasion may not find himself as far back in the pack as he often does. Bubbly Bollinger has trialled well here in the past couple of weeks and can follow the selection home for second.
Last but by no means least is a sprint over the 270m trip which doesn’t offer those looking to get out of jail any easy pickings. Richard Devenish’s Posh Nosh is a strong running sort in front and would be unlikely to be picked up of hitting the lead here. He trialled well last week and can smash out from his middle berth to make every post a winning one.
