Wuheida (Head Bound-Droopys Thrill, Jan 16) elevated herself to a position of ‘serious player’ with an impressive second round win in the ECC Timber Puppy Derby at Towcester.
The Phil Simmonds trained black went to traps in arguably the toughest of the qualifiers and won in the fastest time of the night. Unraced in Ireland, it was her fifth win in nine UK races.
Simmonds said: “We knew she was never a Romford type, but when we trialled her at Towcester, she checked at the sough and probably lost four lengths. So we were really very confident in the first round and one of the owners had a decent bet on her.
“We were less confident last night, given the quality of the field, and were really thrilled to see her run so well. The person who deserves all the credit is Luke Staunton, a young Irish lad who works for me. He and Wuheida just have a natural bond and even though it was his day off, Luke insisted on being there because he knew the bitch would respond to it; and she certainly did.”
All four favourites were turned over though only Forest Mike exited the event
INNOCENT TIMES (t5) disputes early lead with Magical Bale (t4) before going on to land heat 1 for Ireland’s Brendan Matthews. Photo: © Steve Nash
HONEST ROBBER (t3) wins heat 3 from Jovial Monk (t2).Photo: © Steve Nash
LIGHTFOOT KING wins heat 3 for Elaine Parker 29.56. Photo: © Steve Nash
