Premier Greyhound Racing Champion Stakes

The £20,000 to the winner final is the feature contest on a superb Friday night card at Romford.

1 – New Destiny – Mark Wallis – MWD Partnership

Looks to have a perfect pitch on the rails. She is 4/6 from red at Romford. One of those defeats was in the Essex Vase opening round. The three that beat her that day were Havana Top Note (subsequent Hunt Cup winner) Farneys Willie (subsequent Grand Prix winner) and Roxys Bullet (the eventual Essex Vase winner).

Red has been a lucky colour to sport in this final. Seven of the last 20 winners have come from the innermost draw. One of those, Desperado Dan in 2020, was awarded the race. The average age of the last 20 winners is 35.55 months. New Destiny is 36 and Mark Wallis has won this three times in the last nine years .The clock, the stats, everything points in her direction.

2 – Aayamza Sydney – John Mullins – Aayamzaboys Syndicate

Runner-up in the Essex Vase in January, he made New Destiny work hard in the semis last week. They are drawn the other way around tonight which is going to make his task harder. His natural four bend pace is a potent weapon over this trip though.

The winner of 11 of his 17 starts at this track, there were murmurs that an Irish Derby bid was being considered. He is here instead and has rewarded that decision by making another big decider. A serious talent, there is no doubt that he has the ability to win this if things go right.

3 – Nowitsmyturn – Richard Rees – Mr A M Boucher & Mrs D J Wszolek

The outsider of the field, he was no match for Gary The Arb in his semi-final. He led up that day, something he did off a 13.34 sectional here at the end of August. A repeat of that could see him lead up here which would change the mapping of the contest. Despite that, it would still be something of a surprise if he were to hold off the closers even if he did turn in front.

4 – Gary The Arb – Belinda Green – Mr G Smith

It’s been a great year for Belinda Green, sat in the top 10 in the trainers championship. The winner of the greyhound trader.com Stakes on Derby Final night at Towcester, he has taken brilliantly to this very different track. Both his opening round and semi-final wins were visually impressive, powering clear late on.

Whether he is going to be able to give the inside pair a lead and pick them up is an interesting question he will have to answer this evening. Trap four has been the second most successful trap over the last two decades with five winners but he has only been drawn this wide once in his career.

5 – Golden Palace – Michelle Brown – Mr C M Donovan & Mr J A Walker

Has fared the worst of the draw. Eye Onthe Veto was the last to win the Champion Stakes from orange, back in 2007. Although he is a double-figure price, he has made Cowley Puppy Collar and Hunt Cup finals at Oxford in his career already.

He had trap four last week in the semis when chasing home Noirs News. Hard to see him winning a clean run race but he has made another Cat One final and nobody can take that away from him.

6 – Noirs News – Seamus Cahill – Mr S A Cahill & Mrs T J Cahill

The sole seeded runner has to be given plenty of respect on the draw alone. Is steadily improving with each sighting of Romford, winning his semi-final in 35.30. That leaves him a little to find on the clock but he should have the freedom of Essex early on around the outside.

Last week was probably the top performance in his career so far. Peaking at the ideal time for a kennel who are outstanding at producing their dogs to perfection in finals, he needs serious respect.

Conclusion

A great final in prospect. Turning clean on the speed is going to be the number one aim for most of the field. The huge advantage that New Destiny has is that she can pick them up if turning just off the pace. That adaptability is a massive plus as it is hard to see it happening the other way round.

If she turns in front, she won’t be coming back and if she doesn’t, she has the gears to get herself to the front when it matters. Aayamza Sydney is the main danger with Noirs News the tricast link from a perfect launchpad.

1-2-6