For the first Friday in weeks, tonight’s Romford card is the sole venue for open racing. To help tide you over until tomorrow’s greyhound Derby quarter finals at Nottingham, Romford have put on eleven open races for our enjoyment. With several greyhounds making their Romford and six bend debuts yours truly as ever has endeavoured to find out more about some of them.
Central Park’s Patrick Janssens knows what it takes to win around Romford and tonight his two charges are both making their debuts at the Essex track.
First up for Janssens is Colonel Mustard in the opening open race at 6.44pm over 400 metres for greyhounds that have not won more than one open race. The June ’17 whelp has had seven races winning one. That one win came over 265 metres at home track Central Park in an open affair. The son of Over Limit and Fahrenheit Belle has been running over sprint trips but has had two races over four bends. They were at Hove and Monmore over 490 and 480 metres where he finished third and fourth. Tonight he is at Romford over a short four bend trip which may be what he needs. In a recent trial over C&D he clicked a calculated time of 24.45. That is not bad going for a first look and will be expected to improve on that tonight.
Trainer Patrick Janssens on Colonel Mustard said: “24.40 at Romford first time around is good. I was pleased with his trial. 400 metres is better for him than sprints. He sort of runs quite wide but stayed in more at Romford. He could be a bit like Barricane Carina. She ran some tracks very wide but kept in at Romford. He seems to keep in at Romford as well.
“He won a open at Central Park in a good time. Doing that sort of time you could expect him to do 24.10, 24.20 seconds at Romford. He has a very good draw [trap six] and we will see how he goes. He will of course need to lead to win.”
Skybet are 5/2 for Colonel Mustard to win at Romford first time up.
Next up for Janssens is Droopys Biker in heat two of the Romford Friday night 500 maiden stayers over 575 metres at 7.33pm. The June ’16 whelp is permanently over on these shores with trainer Janssens after having a tilt at the greyhound derby last year with Irish based handler Pat Buckley. Last year at Towcester the son of Loughton Blanco and Droopys Cyclone reached the third round. This year he was eliminated in the first round after crowding at the first bend. Tonight he is at Romford to make his venue and six bend debut. He is yet to win for Janssens in two attempts but that could all change tonight. The wide seed has a perfect draw and his performance at Hove recently over 515 suggests he can stay.
Trainer Janssens on Droopys Biker said: “I think he will stay, I’ll be amazed if he doesn’t. He is an incredibly good dog. He has a lot of class and showed that when breaking 29 seconds at Towcester last year. He has won over 549 metres at Shelbourne. He went out of the derby but Nottingham just didn’t suit him.
“He did a very fast trial at Monmore recently clocking 28.08. That was a very good trial and fastest of the night.
“He was beaten at Hove recently but did a lot of running to get to Trade Fudge and although came second still broke 30 seconds.
“We will see how he takes to Romford. He is definitely good enough. I think he will run Romford. I think he is capable of clocking 35 seconds all day long. Maybe not on Friday but certainly further down the line.”
On future plans for him Janssens said: “The Champion Stakes at Romford is a target. Although early I like to give them plenty of experience at Romford.”
Sky bet are currently offering 4/5 to win on his Romford and six bend debut.
Savana Louie tackles Romford for the first time tonight in heat one of the maiden stayers competition over 575 metres at 7.17pm for trainer Jason Bloomfield. The March ’17 whelp is making his Romford debut tonight but not his six bend one. The son of Belles Direction and Hayeses Angel has run over 540 and 714 metres at Crayford back in January and February. Of those three attempts his best placed finish was second over 540 metres. Since then he has been back to Henlow over 460 metres and although clearly needing a longer trip has won an open and A4 and A3 graded races recently showing he is in fine fettle. He now looks ready for another tilt over six bends and it may not be long before he sheds his maiden stayers tag.
Assistant trainer to Jason Bloomfield, Kelli Windebank on Savana Louie said: “We sort of got the idea he would be a stayer early on and tried him at Crayford but it didn’t work out. We tried him over both six and eight bends but it was two early for him and he lost his confidence. We took him back to Henlow over four bends to get his confidence back and it has worked. 460 metres is way too short for him and he is miles clear at the pick up.
“He traps quite well but is not in a race at Henlow until the third or fourth bend. He is coming on all the time and we thought we would give him a go at Romford. The track should suit him better than Crayford. He is not the quickest early on but runs on strong. Trap six on Friday is good for him as he is a wide runner.”
Skybet are 4/1 for Savana Louie to win over six bends tonight.
