I am hoping we can finally win a major competition at Towcester on Wednesday night – and all we have to do is beat the greatest marathon runner of the last 30 years.
I have no illusions about the task facing Rubys Rascal in the final of the Colossus TV Trophy at Towcester. We are up against a phenomenon in Roxholme Magic. She may be nearly five but she was been well handled throughout her career, and has been a sensation. Without doubt, in my mind, she is the best since Scurlogue Champ. What a race it would have been between that pair at their peaks!
She beat us on merit in the heats and we will need things to go in our favour to reverse that form. I am not sure I agree with the theory that she doesn’t run Towcester. I thought she was unlucky in the heats last year, it may just have been one of those races. Had she got through, I would still have fancied her to win the final.
We know that Rascal absolutely loves the track as he has shown over all distances (480-28.30, 500-29.12, 655-38.99, 686-40.89TR). Our hope is that we can get clear and avoid Shellam Delano who has sub-28.00 pace for the 480m. If we tangle with him, we cut each other’s throats. The fact is, we recorded the second fastest time of all the semi finalists, and we will probably have to repeat that, or better to win the final.
When you contrast that run with the match race over 750 metres at Romford, there was no comparison. I have no idea what happened that night, though he certainly wasn’t in the form then that he is now.
Rascal came off very tired from the heats – or at least we think he did – as usual, he gave minimal feedback. We have done very little with him as I purposely don’t want him too fresh and running like a headless chicken in the early stages and then blowing up.
I am not confident he will win – but I am confident that he will do himself justice in a very very good final.
I found myself responding to some digs on social media about the right of Bruisers Bullet to take part in the Star Sports Shoot-Out alongside Bubbly Bluebird and Dorotas Wildcat.
Admitedly Bullet hasn’t won a major competition but he has only had 13 races. He reached the Derby semi finals and clocked 28.78 on Derby Final night which makes him the third fastest dog ever over the Derby course and just six spots outside the track record. He also ran third in a blanket finish in what was described as the ‘race of the decade’.
The suggestions was that Murrys Act should have been in the race instead of Bullet. I disagree. It is a three-way match but I am convinced that Bullet would start favourite if it was just him and Murrys Act.
They are all just racing opinions and not what really lit my fuse.
It was the suggestion in the media that the supposed ‘big kennels’ were being favoured. That was just a cheap shot. If it wasn’t for the ‘big kennels’ a lot of these races and competitions would never fill. Besides, I think we are often at a disadvantage. I have reserves on the SKY card that have better form than some of those that are in the races. But the track want to spread the runners around. I accept that and get on with it.
As far as the race itself is concerned, how do you split dogs of that caliber? There might only be three in it, but it could still come down to who gets a clear run.We drew red at Nottingham when I would have preferred three but would rather have been drawn on the inside at Towcester. If they all break at their best, I can imagine Bullet (T3) being the meat in the sandwich at the bend with Wildcat (T1) and Bluebird (T5). I would expect Bluebird to go up straight and then move across though I don’t think any of them particularly want the rail.
I would settle for being a length behind the pair off the second bend and take our chances from there. But you win nothing if you lost lose or three lengths through bumping; the caliber of opposition is just too great.
I have been following the whole media rights issue and trying to understand the repercussions and have some concerns about the failure to secure a SKY deal for next year.
But being more positive, there has been some sensational racing this year. You can go back through the St.Leger and the Derby, more recently, the Eclipse, and now the TV Trophy. Despite all the doom and gloom, it reminds us what a great sport this can be.
As for the loss of SKY, I will confess that I am quite looking forward to seeing some big Saturday night finals again. One of my fondest racing memories, long before I was training, was playing football for Newmarket Town on a Saturday afternoon and then dashing down to Walthamstow for the final of the Arc and to watch one of my favourite dogs win it – Brownies Outlook trained by Peter Payne.
There were between 8,000-9,000 people at the Stow that night and I struggled to find a viewing spot in the corner of the cheap side. The atmosphere was amazing, in a way that only a big crowd can create. You just don’t get that at a midweek SKY meeting.
I am not suggesting that we will see any more crowds of that size, but a big turn-out for a major race will be something to look forward to again.
