A bizarre tote dividend, the return to form of Donation, and battle at the top of the trainers table were the highlights of Nottingham’s Monday night card.
| Hayton | 6 | 476 | £3,000 | 11 |
| Simmonds | 8 | 441 | £2,925 | 11 |
| Lister | 4 | 498 | £2,925 | 10 |
| Rosney | 4 | 539 | £2,250 | 8 |
| Boon | 5 | 514 | £2,300 | 7 |
| Denby | 4 | 469 | £1,675 | 7 |
| Keightley | 6 | 522 | £1,825 | 7 |
| Kibble | 2 | 480 | £1,825 | 6 |
By most standards, the first race (A4) was pretty unremarkable, won by Pete Harnden’s 8-1 shot Salacres Gem. However the £101.40 return for a £1 unit on the tote set a stadium record. The chart forecast returns (8-1, 6-4f) were £34.13 and the tricast (add 7-2) was £97.67.
On the track, the performance of the night was the return to form of the classy Donation (Droopys Cain-Delightful Flyer, Feb 15). The beaten Sussex Cup favourite was contesting only her second race back since the ’17 Oaks Final and won like a 4-9f should – by just over five lengths in 28.35 (+50) for the 480m.
There was also a fine run by Droopys Dresden (Mall Brandy-Droopys Start, Feb 15) to take the £500 Standard Final over the 500m course.
The Phil Simmonds trained hound, who lost eight months of his career after going lame in the 2016 Puppy Derby Final, completed a hat-trick when beating Alfies Prince by a length in 29.49 (+50).
With Newlawn Adam successful just 15 minutes earlier, it took trainer Phil Simmonds to joint top of the Nottingham open race trainers table with 11 victories. Joint leader Jim Hayton also owns the track’s most prolific mum – Hawks Dutchess, with 8 wins.
The leading open race winner is Tyrur Hugo with six victories to date.
