We didn’t win the big one at Swindon with Evanta Evita and Calco Flyer both beaten in the Calne Racing Arc Final but I have no complaints.
I was originally happy with trap six for Evanta Evita, the widest drawn of the six railers, but in hindsight, five might had been better.
As it turned out, she couldn’t get around the winner (Kippers Usain) who was drawn in five. If you had reversed the traps, it might have affected the result. Calco Flyer lost his chance when he was wiped out at the first bend.
Still no complaints and it was good to see Chris Allsopp back among the big winners. Chris is a nice guy and not everything has gone his way this year.
As for the other runners, I was thrilled with the run of Domino Storm who did the fastest time over the distance for a couple of years.
And Billys Bullet did us proud once again. What really impresses me about him, apart from his obvious speed, is his ‘racing brain’.
On several occasions, he could have found himself in difficulty but he has manoeuvred himself into decent positions to wait for a gap to open up and he did it again at Swindon.
The only downside was Vanfrenchie who came off lame. He has been injured before and I hope it doesn’t prove too serious.
I expect to start trialling my Derby runners next week. There are probably 30 who could feasibly be entered.
I don’t have any objection to any owner wanting to take part, but I will be recommending any owner whose dogs do not break 29.00, not to bother. It is still their choice, but there are surely better options available.
Personally, I have quite an open mind about what makes a Derby dog. We won our first Derby with Kinda Ready who had been running graded at Coventry, and the second with Blonde Snapper who many people didn’t see as a Derby type of dog, even though he was a dual category one winner.
The thing is, you never know which dog will suddenly just get it right. We have a couple of very good graders in the kennel who might just suddenly come into form and take off.
Perhaps the greatest example of that happening was Adageo who ran in the 2010 Derby Final five months after running in A4 at Harlow!
The race that we arranged for Cornamaddy Jumbo at Romford didn’t fill which is frustrating, if not surprising.
We will trial him again on Tueday and the plan is for the race to be staged next Friday instead. Fingers crossed.
I am loathe to try him beyond 400 metres if I can help it. He is getting on and I don’t want to push my luck with that old gracilis injury. If he comes off lame again, he will be retired anyway.
Overall, open races not filling can be a real nuisance.
I have at least one dog in the kennel who almost certainly puts off other runners from entering on his favourite track.
It is a moot point as to whether trainers should be told who else has entered when they speak to a racing office.
Years ago, they simply wouldn’t have told you. But it isn’t really that simple.
For example there are a couple of tracks where I may plan to enter runners and I ask whether those races are likely to fill.
Once I know that we okay, I then ask the racing office if I can help them fill any other races.
On some occasions, I know that we are making up the numbers up against better dogs. But sometimes you have to do that. Besides, on other occasions, we surprise them.
Henlow is a good example. They will always put themselves out for you and I don’t think I have ever been refused a trial there.
My one real irritation, and I know I have mentioned it before, are the tracks who save money by accepting ‘outside’ runners, but will gladly pay appearance money for their own dogs in the same race.
That just isn’t fair and it can make a significant difference to our finances over the course of a year.
I also have some doubts about whether some of the tracks actually want decent open racers.
When I was younger, I would gladly go and watch a good dog, even it was going to return at 1-4f.
Unfortunately, the off-course bookmakers don’t see the benefit of anything shorter than 5-2 the field, and I wonder whether that influences some of the races that don’t fill.
You get all kinds of personalities in the kennel. The quiet ones, the happy ones. . .
Although hurdlers don’t have a very good reputation, Cornamaddy Jumbo is a lovely dog to have around.
If you were looking for a ‘handful’ I would probably suggest it would be Cloudbursting. He is a stunning looking dog but like a lot of sprinters, can be a bit highly strung.
If you were choosing on looks, Domino Storm would be the last one you would ever go for.
There is nothing to her (25.8kg) and she has the longest overshot jaw you’ve ever seen. But we think the world of her!
She is just so classy, and a litter sister to the Scottish Derby winner Swift Hoffman.
She was bred by Ian Greaves, who is having a phenomenal year, and was very reasonably priced. She was a first greyhound for Ciaran King and his family, and she has thoroughly spoiled them.
There are a lot of good bitches around this year – I have two or three in the kennel – and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple make it to the latter stages of the Derby.
But I wouldn’t pick any of them above my little Domino Storm.
