A further six Star Sports & ARC English Greyhound Derby trial stakes races took place at Nottingham on Monday evening.
The first of which went the way of Sylvia Oakes and her Glenvale Gav who trapped well , showed good early pace and just managed to cut off Carol Grasso’s Berties Blake at the turn who had cut inside from his trap 5 berth. Gary Ferguson’s Pennylane Fionn kept the winner honest throughout but in truth was never quite getting there as Gav stopped the clock in 29.74 and holding off Fionn by a comfortable enough neck.
This was the second trial stakes win for Gav and so it was too for Gavin Holmans’s Easy On who took the second trial stakes of the evening. Easy On trapped well and with Jimmy Fenwick’s Last Stronghold sticking to the rail. When Anthony West’s Coolavanny About moved off from trap three, he had all the space he needed to utilise his excellent early and middle pace. He skipped well clear and was never in a moments worry, eventually running out a five length winner in 29.79.
Ken Humphrey’s Master Reed must be one of the most difficult dogs in training to seed. He seems to run just the opposite of wherever he’s seeded and has a mind very much of his own. Trap three last night suited him well though. Not brilliantly away he outpaced the inside duo to the turn in trial stakes 3 and once turning the bend in front that was pretty much that, eventually beating Colin Watson’s Owley Gunner in 29.84. Matt Dartnall’s Mister Brentford was sent off favourite for this race. Running from T5 he made a mess of the star, compounded his problems by then moving to the inside, and paced up well before running into inevitable trouble at the bend. He’s a dog with pace but will need to add a little more consistency to his trapping at this kind of level.
The next heat saw more than its share of first bend crowding. At that stage, Peter Harnden’s Kopites Legend, a recent purchase from the Kevin Hutton kennel, handled it well and skipped around in front. There were some powerful runners in behind though and the writing was on the wall as they headed off the last bend. Joanne O’Neills’s Borna Shelly eventually came through to win by a short head from Robert Hall’s Sporting Pacino. The winners time of 30.39 tells the tale of the race. Shelly is a greyhound capable of much faster times when things eventually fall right for him however I’m sure connections will be delighted to have secured their first win here in the UK.
All eyes and talk lately have been on other runners from the Jimmy Fenwick kennel but Look Like Power, a finalist in the 2019 Northern Puppy Derby at Newcastle, is ticking along just nicely. Winning for the second week in a row here in trial stakes 5 and improving from 29.83 to 29.71 despite a slower sectional of 5.07 from 5.01 last week. He’s a dog well suited by Nottingham and could well go a long way in the Derby itself.
Last but by no means least Distant Village won trial stakes 6 by a length from Tom Heilbron’s Ardralla Jim in 29.76. The race fell perfect for Village. Not greatly away but still crossing the line in a more than decent 5.06 he got himself into a fair position come halfway and swooped by his rivals around the outside at the third bend. Running the fourth turn much better this week he’s a greyhound firmly heading the right way and can only improve for the experience he’s been gaining of the venue in recent weeks.
Pre-meeting saw probably the most interesting and informative post lockdown Derby trial session to date taking place. All eyes were obviously once again on Jimmy Fenwicks superstar Ice On Fire. Running from trap 4 this week as opposed to 5 last time out, Fire was slightly better away this time around. Moving off the bend again on the run in before coming back across to tight rails he stopped the clock in 15.25 as compared to 15.19 on week one. As Jimmy notes in his interview here on the Greyhound Star website, it’s a work in progress with the dog but the main thing is that he didn’t regress.
He said: “He’s been thoroughly checked out this week and there is no reaction to the gracilis injury which he sustained. With this type of injury it can take a dog a few runs before they’re confident enough and have become accustomed enough to using the muscle in a new way. I’ll reiterate though that if he isn’t back to his explosive best for the Derby then he will not run. We have to see that he is back and able to produce what he was before , if he isn’t then it wouldn’t be fair on the dog to put him into a competition of this nature. The next few weeks will be telling”.
Ballymac Inspeed has been a dog very much on peoples lip’s in recent months having been purchased by Colin and Harry Davey. The greyhound gave the Irish Derby a miss after picking up a small injury in his Champion Stakes Semi final at Shelbourne in July and it was decided that he would be better off getting over to his new trainer Tom Heilbron’s kennel in plenty of time to settle and recuperate before a tilt at the English Derby.
He clocked 17.82 here last night over the 305m trip beating off kennelmates Drumcrow Vince and Ballregan River by 3 1/2 and 6 3/4 respectively. It was a more than fair introduction for this strong running and well touted greyhound and it would be no surprise to see him clocking an eye catching time over the Derby trip in the coming weeks.
Fastest of the session over the 500m Derby trip was Ted Soppitt’s Blackstone Milo who recorded 29.78 off a 4.96 split. This was a hugely impressive run from a young October 2018 pup with just four races under his belt.
Ted has made no secret of his liking for Milo and given that he appeared to feel his way around the track at times last night despite recording such a time , you couldn’t have failed to be anything but impressed. His potent early pace may act as a leveller against his lack of experience.
Barry Denby’s talented local Upton Legend was next fastest of the sessio , stopping the clock in 29.83 in a solo trial but the stand out performance of the session in my eyes came from Alison Kelly-Pilgrim’s Deanridge Rapid (ex Ballymac Notisme) who recorded 29.88 despite hitting trouble on more than one occasion when having to come from last to first in a 3 dog trial. He won comfortably in the end , is a very strong runner and had this been a solo trial last night a time of around 29.60 wouldn’t have been out of the question.
Team Keightley sent along Roxholme Poppy and a new young purchase named Roxholme Olaf (ex Tullymurry Mint) for a trial over 500m. Olaf easily led the trial , moving wide from his trap 3 berth , recording an excellent split of 4.92 before tiring late on and being passed by his strong running kennelmate Poppy who won the trial by 3 lengths in 2985.
Assistant trainer Mark Keightley said: “Olaf arrived here with us just eight days ago and in honesty giving a dog a trial so soon after arriving, particularly over four bends, would be a little bit outside the box for us. However he’s settled well and we thought we’d kick on quickly whilst he was in such good condition. The trial was more than satisfactory in my opinion. He’s broken very fast from trap three but as per the norm at Notts first time he’s not handled the first two bends at all.
“There is no doubting at all that to the third bend he’s electric and he looks a natural at the traps. He’s tied up badly on the run , appearing to cramp in and based on the fact he appears to be very fit I’d say that’s something we need to tinker with a little in his diet. I’ve no doubt that within the next four weeks the trip will be within his range. Olaf is a very exciting greyhound but what was just as pleasing was Poppy running so well to win the trial , I think that performance told us all that she’s not ready to retire just yet !”.
Bower Luke recording 1787 for Pat Rosney and Jumeriah Sprite stopping the clock in 1784 over the 305m trip were other notable trials as was Jimmy Fenwick’s Nice As Ice who posted a 2868 over the 480m trip. Jimmy said “This bitch is every bit as fast as Ice On Fire”. That should serve as a fair warning to anything she lines up against.
There is no trial space available next Monday, but plenty available on the Wednesday trial session (9.30 kennel 11am trials). They will need to be booked in by 11 am this Friday
