Nottingham stadium tonight hosts the final of the RPGTV National Sprint with the main event also being supported by the finals of the RPGTV Puppy Cup and Standard Trophy. With five other supporting open races over a variety of distances, it promises to be an entertaining evening’s racing.
First up at 7.34pm is the RPGTV 480 which looks an incredibly tough race to call. The first bend leader is sure to take a lot of beating but the question is which greyhound will lead? A chance is taken to very small stakes on Peter Harnden’s superbly well-bred Salacres Tingle who was a good winner in top grade B1 company on her only start over this course and distance. Tingle will need to be lively at trap rise though as Colin Wilton’s Pandarama is likely to move off from trap 1 and Nathan Hunt’s Jono You Go likely to move in from T3.
The Gavin Holman trained Easy Shot is taken to win the RPGTV Puppy Cup at 7.51pm. I noted her prior to last week’s heat as a young bitch with exceptional talent and her subsequent success on career debut when winning by 4 1/2 lengths in 29.93 (+20) backed up that view. Superb from the traps and an excellent touch of early pace she looks well drawn here to ping out and make all.
I’m loathe to select a runner drawn trap 1 in a sprint at Nottingham but as a selection in the RPGTV Sprint Trophy at 8.06pm I’ll do just that with Lynn Cooks Swift Taxman. Extremely lightly raced in recent times he’s a greyhound who is obviously difficult to keep sound for any significant amount of time these days, despite this and despite the draw in one I’ll take a chance he can trap well enough to make the bend and from that point home it should be job done. At a likely odds on though it’s a race to watch rather than get heavily involved.
Churchill Holly didn’t look at home around Swindon during the recent Property 192 Oaks, beaten after leading clear in the first round she was never in contention after missing the start in the second.
There were one or two questions to answer on her return to Nottingham especially so given she was running from a draw much wider than ideal in trap 4 in her heat of this RPGTV Standard Trophy. Holly answered any questions she had hanging over her in style, pinging out she soon took command and scorched to a 3 1/2 length victory over Little Emir in 29.64 (+10).
Ideally drawn in trap 1 in tonight’s 8.21pm final, Holly can once again take command early and make all. There can be no mistakes at the traps though with Gary Carmichael’s Little Emir, Lynn Cooks second representative Plaza Lep, Danny Gomersall’s Mohort Bill, Jimmy Fenwick’s Lightfoot Ripley will all be looking to claim an early lead themselves whilst Barry Denby’s talented local Upton Legend is more than capable of coming from behind with a little luck in running despite once again being drawn out wider than ideal on the track in six. It’s a high-class final where the winner will need to be foot perfect.
Gary Ferguson’s Winetavern Curly has been in terrific form for a while now and was more than a little unlucky in running in the final of the M Lambe Construction Birmingham Cup Final at the end of November. His 6 1/4 length demolition job in a 500m open at Sheffield last time out came as no surprise to connections or indeed to anybody who’d been watching this greyhound with a close eye recently. Curly should have the wide outside of the track all to himself throughout and can come through off the last bend to follow up on his Sheffield success.
It’s the turn of the stayers at 8.52pm with the RPGTV Stayers Trophy over 680m. Barry Denby’s Riley Ray always looked destined to be well suited by this kind of trip and even further from a very early stage of his career. He’d disappointed to an extent in a few runs over extended trips but really took off when just getting the better of Southfield Code over course and distance on his last competitive start. Riley has since trialled well over 500m in a solo when recording 30.09 (+10) off the back of a pedestrian 5.48 split. This is another competitive race on tonight’s card but I’m siding with Denby’s stunning looking fawn to win again.
The main event of the evening takes place at 9.11pm as some of the fastest two bend greyhounds in training line up for the final of the RPGTV National Sprint.
It must have been extremely disappointing for Ian Walker to have to withdraw his Dark Magic from the final during the week but amongst our community greyhound welfare is a must. Hopefully connections will gain compensation at some point in the coming months.
My selection for the final is Carl Perry’s Geelo Gold Dust (7-4). An impressive winner of both her heat and semi-final she can trap well and just about make the bend in front. There is no doubting that Simon Harm’s Loggies Lito (5-4) will be pacing up well to the turn but as in the semi final I feel Lito will fail to clear Perry’s bitch and she can power on home up the straight and hold off all challenges in her usual battling style.
Paul Sallis’s Kelseys Phoenix (12-1) has been showing plenty of pace in defeat recently and with a smash break couldn’t be ruled out and neither too could Michelle Brown’s Signature Callum (5-1). Callum has a will to win to match his speed and comes into the final on the back of a three timer which includes game victories in heat and semi-final of this competition.
The move from trap 6 to 5 though might not prove ideal. Richard Joyce’s Feather Breeze (8-1) is very talented but inconsistent at the traps and he’ll need one of his better starts if he’s to have any chance of clearing what is a huge amount of pace on his inside tonight.
Geelo Vegas gave connections their first competition sucess in this very event back in December 2014 and Geelo Gold Dust can once again see the trophy back in the hands of Carl Perry, Nic Brereton and the Geelo Racing Team.
Geelo Josh is yet to win in four starts since arriving in the UK but is a high-class sort with some top-class Irish form when timing his break right.
Running from trap 3 tonight in the 480m RPGTV Trophy at 9.26pm he can smash out and get himself up and running on this side of the Irish sea.
He can afford no mistakes at the traps though, inconsistency in this department has cost him plenty of races over time. He can come away tonight though and land what will be a quick fire and very memorable double for the Geelo Racing Team.
