Joe’s Nottingham Tips
*** 7.44 Nottingham – Clona King
** 9.11 Nottingham – Kylenoe Bilbo
*8.36 Nottingham – Tex Brit
Five open races on the card at Nottingham this evening including three heats of the Arc Maiden Standard Trophy and the Jenningsbet Sprint Trophy Final.
Arc Maiden Standard Heats
Heat one at 7.27 can see trap three Seaside Degs lead and make all. He needs to go clear as there are some strong stayers in the race including Killaun Dimby who looks the main danger to three but I fancy Seaside Degs to lead and from there can go onto win.
Heat two at 7.44 is all about Clona King in trap three. He has been running well in defeat at Monmore in a puppy competition behind some nice types including Lion King. That was followed by a trip to Yarmouth for a trial with the possibility of a run on Derby final night on the cards. He should get off the mark here for the Carol Weatherall team with a clean break.
Heat three at 8.19 can go to Rebel Venus to give Carol Weatherall a double on the card. She ran well behind Aero Pattika at Monmore recently and prior to that found herself in front of a trial stakes at Nottingham before the hare being stopped. Any improvement from Rebel Venus can see her go close this evening.
The Jenningsbet Sprint Trophy Final
This can go the way of the locally trained Tex Brit in trap six. He beat Ballymac Emo and Millbank Burner in the heats and can follow up that run by getting the better of those two rivals again. Perhaps the main danger is Caution Hot who was an impressive winner in last week’s heat.
The final open race on the card is the Arena Racing Company Sprint Trophy at 9.11 where the classy Kylenoe Bilbo takes all the beating. He was beaten by a good winner in Fratton Bark last Monday but can get back to winning ways here with a clear run from trap five.
bet365 Empress Stakes – 1st round review
New Destiny goes fastest in the opening round.
A 4.08 sectional put New Destiny straight in front for Mark Wallis in her heat. From there, she was never going to be caught given she is generally seen over slightly further. A 28.75 is the best that she has produced at the track but she has a quicker 4.05 sectional in the past.
Angel of the North runner-up Leighas Dream clocked 28.84 for Barry Denby, two spots quicker than Liz McNair’s Queen Georgia. They produced sectionals of 4.12 and 4.07 respectively. Avongate Venus won heat two in 29.01, extending her hugely impressive run of form for Phil Milner.
The other two heats went to Iceman’s Girl for Nathan Hunt in 29.16 and McNair’s Queen Shakira in 29.42. It was a case of all the big guns making it into the semi-final draw which you can see below.
Semi-final two is the tastiest of the bunch with the three at the head of the ante post market all drawn together!
Different Speed is the first to 20 open race wins
Kate Harrison’s sprinter pulls four clear at the top of the win column.
He has clearly found a track that he loves this year. Plus, it’s easy to forget that he was a 2023 Scurry finalist. Some may question his opposition but Harrison has done a great job keeping the dog in peak condition both mentally and physically.
He is just the sixth greyhound in the last decade to win 20 open class races in a single year. The others were Laughil Jess, 26 in 2023, Droopys Live, 20 in 2019 Chopchop Hope, 20 in 2018 Razldazl Raidio, 22 in 2017 and Cape Impact, 21 in 2015.
Dave Lee with a four-timer at Crayford
It was a superb night for the Epping based handler.
There are few winners at Crayford that are more popular than when Laughil Jess passes the line first. Her early pace kept her out of trouble in the 540m final and with some scrimmaging behind, she ran out a comfortable 10 and a half length winner.
Lee also hit the target in the other £750 final with Jacktavern Alan. A 3.42 sectional meant that he was always going to be hard to pick up even before he clocked the fastest 380m time of the night, a 23.04. Integral (23.30) and All Along (23.09) were Lee’s other two winners.
Robert Short made the trip worthwhile with the opening two winners on the card. Necessary Evil and Castell Judge were his two victorious hounds. Julie Luckhurst and Ricky Holloway also doubled up on the card. Luckhurst with Epic Princess and Kanturk Mills, whose 33.48 was the fastest of the night over 540m. Holloway scored with Razldazl Amanda and Four From Two.
Glengar Scholar shocked Holloway’s 1/5 favourite Razldazl Barkley for Alison Kelly-Pilgrim. Robert Emery was the other trainer on target with Liz On Faya. She was the quicker of the two 714m winners.
Leger clashes this month
Perry Barr and Doncaster are set to clash later this month when the two tracks host major four and six-bend competitions.
Midlands track Perry Barr kicks off the Premier Greyhound Racing St Leger (710m) and M Lambe Construction Birmingham Cup (480m) this coming Saturday. A week later Doncaster hosts both the heats of the Yorkshire Derby (483m) and the BGBF St Leger (661m).
The two venues are on opposite sides of the media rights divide with Perry Barr hosting PGR/TRP meetings and the South Yorkshire track aligned to SIS.
Liz Mort, the British Greyhound Breeders Forum chair, admits the situation is hardly ideal but is calling for British-bred stayers to head for Doncaster, commenting:
“Perry Barr is over a slightly longer distance in terms of our St Leger, but any British-bred runners out of luck in the Perry Barr competitions could feasibly be re-routed to Doncaster a week later. Either way we want to see the British-breds in the spotlight at Donny.
“September is going to be a busy month for us at the BGBF – and for trainers and owners of British-bred runners! We’ve got the Produce Stakes in full flow now at Swindon. Then it’s the BGBF St Leger at Doncaster – a Category Two for 24 dogs and bitches.
“This is one of our Cat Two series funded by SIS which is an ongoing sponsorship programme which enables us to run more competitions for British-breds. Entries close at Doncaster at noon on September 11. The heats are on Saturday, September 14, which is actually the same day as horse racing’s St Leger, also at Doncaster.
“The semi-finals are on Saturday, September 21, and the final on Saturday, September 28. The winner receives £3,000 with the winning breeder taking home £1,000.”
New Rásaíocht Con Eireann Chairman
We are pleased to announce that Minister Charlie McConalogue has appointed Pat Flanagan as the Chairman of Rásaíocht Con Eireann.
Pat, an experienced veterinary surgeon, is a current member of the board of RCÉ. He succeeds Frank Nyhan who served as Chairman for 6 years.
CEO Tim Lucey commented on the appointment, stating, “We warmly welcome Pat Flanagan to his new role as Chairman. His commitment will undoubtedly help to drive RCÉ forward. We also extend our thanks to Frank Nyhan for his leadership and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”
Esther the driving force at Sallis kennel
Paul Sallis says it is “business as usual” at the Derbyshire kennels he operates along with partner and now licence holder Esther Driver.
The Monmore handler has transferred the licence to Driver as he prepares for a hospital procedure and then recuperation. Heintends to keep it that way.
“I’ve got to spend time in hospital shortly, so it just made sense from a business point of view to let Esther take over the licence from hereon in.
“Monmore have been brilliant and supportive – as have our owners. We’ve got a good team here and Esther pretty much does all the work anyway!”
Shivoo is not retired!
Reports yesterday that Crafty Shivoo has been retired are premature.
She was sent to Ireland to Pat Norris with the aim of having pups. Connections are just waiting for her to break into season.
She has not done so yet, so she went around Cork in a sprint trial, clocking 17.35. The quickest time in a race so far this year is Stonepark Hoffa. He produced a 17.30 on August 24, the only time sub 17.25.
She is said to be looking superb by Norris so will be aimed at the Laurels which starts there this Saturday.
Stats
- Killuran Bella – 3.13 Central Park – 9/16 in D1 races when drawn in trap one.
- Explosive Elsa – 5.21 Doncaster – 5/6 in A1 grade at the track.
- Cash For Elsanto – 7.06 Yarmouth – 5/7 when running from trap three.
