Race and trials review, with videos and full results, quotes and statistics
The first Star Sports Bookmakers & ARC English Greyhound Derby trial stakes of Monday evening was taken in emphatic fashion by Lynn Cook’s rapidly improving young bitch Churchill Holly.
Pinging from the lids and heading to the line first time in an excellent 4.95 split she never looked in any danger at any stage of the race, eventually stopping the clock in a fastest trial stakes of the evening 29.52 with Barry Denby’s classy local Upton Legend running on for a never nearer second some 4 1/2 lengths behind.
Legend struggled to clear Jim Hayton’s Kirabilly Kathy throughout and didn’t get clear of that rival until turning for home. His run can be upgraded somewhat. So too can the run of Vicki Lea’s Hather Duke who despite being sent off at 40/1 ran an eye-cathching race in defeat.
Beaten over 8 lengths in the end Duke left the bigger portion of this on the track, heading straight for the rails from his T5 berth he came together with Anna Thompson’s Locnamon Mike on the run up and received numerous other incidents of crowding throughout the race from there on home.
He’d be of serious interest if lining up in a run-of-the-mill six bend open race from a decent rails draw given the manner in which he headed to the pick up against proven winner in that sphere Mike.
This race belonged to Holly though, another impressive performance from a bitch heading towards the Derby in peak improving form.
In fact, the quality of her early pace is best demonstrated by our exclusive half-way sectionals of all eight trialstake winners.
Newcastle’s Stuart Tighe landed yet another trial stakes here in taking the second of the evening with his Cabra Tango.
Like so many greyhounds facing the track for the first time he missed his kick, Tango paced up well though, led by the bend and pulled out just enough despite being constantly challenged throughout.
Tango has obviously had his issues, marked awkward in a race at Limerick in June 2019 after showing unnatural pace to chase down a runaway leader before proving hesitant to pass, his new connections have shown extreme patience with the greyhound who rewarded them with this victory here in 3012.
Vicki Lea’s Millhouse Vick (ex Conors Vic) is yet to win in 9 races here in the UK but does have two sprint victories on the card at Dundalk. He turned second just behind the winner and had every chance if good enough and though he couldn’t ever get to the winner he outran his starting price of 50/1.
Brian Thompson’s Vixon’s Lad was backed as if defeat was out of the question in the hours before the race, he’d won first time up here back in March in a puppy open and despite missing the kick here and clipping the rail at the second bend, he looked to be travelling like the winner heading into the third turn but has been squeezed up and appeared to clip heals with the eventual winner before taking a tumble.
Thankfully he was back on all four feet and heading into the pick up shortly after.
Ken Metcalfe’s Pelaw raider Murlens Magda took the third trial stake of the evening in good style.
Putting the experience he’s gained of the circuit in recent weeks he was slowly away before pacing up well to the bend.
At that point he cut across his rivals and with trouble in behind he soon scooted clear, holding off Samantha Atkinson’s Shady Diesel by 3 lengths in 30.09. Stuart Tighe’s Droopys Catapult had won well on Nottingham debut last week and was well fancied to make it two from two here. He was moderately away but soon close enough to have led by the turn if good enough, he was out paced by the winner though and after being squeezed up at the bend his chance was soon gone.
Not a bad little trio either!
John Mullins Swift Lettuce was well fancied for Trial Stake 4 of the evening despite it on paper being one of the more competitive races of the evening.
He’d trialled extremely well here last week when recording 29.68 (+10) and from a plot looking draw here in trap 3 punters were prepared to weigh in.
Pinging out he hit the line first time in 4.99, just a spot slower than his 4.98 from last weeks trial. Despite having to battle hard to hold off the initial challenge of Carol Weatherall’s Hather Regal, then of Ken Humphrey’s Wingman, the Monmore Puppy Derby Final finalist showed guts as well as pace, stopping the clock in 29.75.
Ernie Gaskin’s Newinn Jacko who had emerged victorious in the aforementioned Puppy Derby Final, left more than the two lengths he was beaten on the track. He should benefit from a more favourable box than orange.
Ernie didn’t have to wait long for a winner though as his well related and lightly raced Newinn Liz trapped well (500 dead split) and made every post a winning one in 29.58 by 4 1/4 lengths from Mark Wallis’s Antigua Boy.
This was a striking performance from the Gaskin runner who stretched well clear to the pick up. David Ambler’s Roedholm Billie, a winner over 714m at Crayford, looked all at sea on his first competitive start here at Nottingham but did some eye-catching late work.
The excellent recent form of the John Mullin’s kennel continued with his Notouttheway landing Trial Stakes 5 to complete a double on the night.
This September 18 youngster took his winning record to 6 from 20 with this victory and in the process doubled his open race winning tally, his previous success in the division coming in a sprint race at Central Park back in March.
He’s failed to lead in recent races but trapped well here from trap 2 and despite heading middle on the run up he crossed the line in 5.07. Cutting the turn he set sail for victory and held off the late challenge of Ken Humphrey’s Nottingham stalwart Master Reed by a length with Jim Hayton’s Million Wink a further head behind in third.
Ballyard Ricki landed a substantial gamble when proving far too good for maiden opposition at Central Park on his UK debut at the end of August. He was knocked over in his next race there but Nathan Hunt sent Ricki out for a commanding victory in the sixth trial stake of the evening.
He was moderately away but soon paced up to cross the line first time in an excellent 4.97, he soon went clear but gave his rivals a glimmer of hope when moving extremely wide off the fourth turn. Once straightening up however he stayed on well to hold off Liz McNair’s King Dylan by 1 1/2 lengths in 29.79.
Jimmy Fenwick’s Look Like Power was sent off a warm order 11/8 favourite for the race but found Mark Wallis’s promising youngster Hopes Bullet a hindrance inside him early.
Bullet has yet to get his career off the mark here in the UK having previously won two races at Tralee in Ireland in 28.73 and 28.67. Despite being sent off at 8/1 here he’s a young dog very much heading in the right direction and significant improvement on the clock isn’t likely to be too far away.
As for the winner, Nathan said “He’s coming along nicely now and we’re thrilled with that run tonight. He showed great pace at Central Park after missing the break and I’m not quite sure those boxes suited him as well as these hopefully will do here.
“Despite it only being a level break here it was much better than seeing him coming out behind them, this has given him the chance to utilise the early pace we know he has and the run was even more pleasing as he’s definitely left a good few lengths out on the track, particularly at the fourth bend where he’s really run off coursing the hare.
“Once he’s straightened up though he’s stayed on well. I’m pleased and I think we’re only just beginning to see the real Ballyard Ricki”.
Last but by no means least, Matt Dartnall’s Distant Village took Trial Stake 8 in 29.53, a single spot slower than the time recorded by Churchill Holly in the evening’s opener.
I’ve noted in recent weeks that Village has been showing good pace in his races but that there was still improvement to come. This was his best effort yet and despite initially being led up by Ernie Gaskin’s well fancied recent Monmore Gold Cup finalist Droopys Addition, he took advantage of that rivals lack of course knowledge at the second bend to quicky shoot clear along the back straight.
He can still improve his racing line at the fourth turn but this was much better. Addition himself is a classy sort and will no doubt improve for the experience he’s gained of the circuit in the past couple of weeks.
Matt said: “We’ve purposefully got plenty of experience into the Nottingham circuit for Distant Village pre-Derby, we feel it’s a track that particularly for wide runners like him you will improve with each passing week. He’s not quite there yet but he’s not far off now and the work put in recently is beginning to pay off. Entry wise for the Derby we’re likely to go with both him and Mister Brentford who has also won a couple of trial stakes in recent weeks.
“We’ve got Distant Stream and Sidaz Jet down to trial on Wednesday, we’ll see how they go they might surprise but at this stage I’d say they were unlikely to be entered, you never know though”.
48 Derby entries to date – closes Thursday 3pm
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The white box continues to dominate the 500 metre course as shown by the tally of open races this year.
In fact, if you had backed every trap three runner you would be in profit on the year to date
Fastest over the Derby course this year.
Winning trainers
The pre meeting trial session on Monday evening provided no end of clues for the forthcoming competition itself.
A host of leading contenders took to the track for valuable experience of the circuit however it was Alison Kelly-Pilgrim’s Deanridge Sirius who stopped the clock in a fastest of session 29.53 off the back of a 5.12 split.
Sirius who has long been declared ‘the worst result in the ante-post book’ by Star Sports bookmaker representative Martin ‘Lofty’ Chapman hadn’t quite been performing at his best in recent weeks.
This run though comes at just the right time for his supporters and has no doubt left a chill down the spine of Ben Keith this morning. The Kelly-Pilgrim kennel also provided the sessions next best time via Deanridge Rapid who stopped the clock in 29.58.
His time was a little behind the 29.39 recorded a couple of weeks ago but will still be enough to cause at least a ripple of concern in the Star Sports offices this morning, for he too was the subject of a hefty ante post wager at no less than 125/1 in the hours before the aforementioned 29.39 run a couple of weeks ago.
Sharon Thompson, trainer of Sparta Master, had made perfectly clear her intention to attempt to have her strong running dog seeded rails for the forthcoming Derby. An issue which has raised much discussion on the various social media channels.
On this evidence a rails seed will be extremely tough to justify. Trialling from trap 2 here he has immediately moved off middle on the run up, cut the bend but then moved off middle to wide along the back straight.
He then cut the bend around turns three-four before once again moving off middle to wide on the run for home.
He is not a dog any set of connections with a true railing greyhound would want drawn outside him.
Although there has to be empathy with connections over their greyhound being drawn wider than ideal on occasions, cutting the bend doesn’t make you a railer either.
Maybe one for those who have long since campaigned for an introduction of mid-rls and mid-wide seedings.
Jimmy Fenwick’s Ice On Fire was having his first trial in company post comeback. He trapped well, hitting the line in 5.06 and moving well until the third bend where he visibly began to tire.
He was picked up on the line by kennel mate Dilly Dilly who beat him a head in 29.82 with fellow kennel mate Last Stronghold a further 3 1/2 lengths back in third.
Kevin Boon’s unexposed Darbys Ranger once again impressed, winning his trial by six and a half lengths from Ballydorgan Mo in 29.71 off the back of a 5.00 dead split.
