Newcastle have held over the closure of their Thursday night (Laurels supporting) opens until Noon on Tuesday – including the £1,000 Mark Lennox Memorial invitation.
Director of Racing Stephen Gray said: “I guess it is a sign of the times that they didn’t fill. But we are looking for one or two runners for all the opens and rather than simply fill them (with graded runners), we thought we would give trainers an extra 24 hours.”
The opens include puppy, senior, maiden and bitch events over the standard plus a sprint and a six-bend stayers race.
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As far as the feature event is concerned, with three lengths covering all six runners on semi final form, Gray said:”You can genuinely make a case for every runner in the field. The three Harrison runners are where they would want to be. Verve’s reputation proceeds him as a greyhound of absolute quality, Droopys Trapper would be a star in his own right, but is a little overshadowed by being in the same kennel as Verve. Nadal looks a great prospect for 2019.
“Nadurra Ross is the sole railer and likely to improve, Bramble Reggie should get a clear run from two, and although Bramble Milburn might seem the most disadvantaged of Steve Anderson’s two, he does have the early pace to lead up and cut across the field.”
Latest betting: 4-5f Droopys Verve, 7-2 Droopys Trapper, 8-1 Bramble Reggie, 10-1 Nadurra Ross, 14-1 Bramble Milburn, 16-1 Droopys Nadal
