By Rob Abrey

The ‘Beast from the East’ has long gone and now an African Plume has finally delivered some warm weather our way. With no threat of rain or snow to stop racing tonight we can enjoy the thirteen open races on show at Romford from 6.27pm. Along with several greyhounds making their Romford debuts tonight there is a one off BGBF British bred marathon race worth £1,000 to the winner which has attracted newcomers and enticed trainers to step their charges up in trip. As ever yours truly has found out more about some of the newcomers plus two runners in the British bred marathon.

Crayford trainer Barry O’Sullivan is making the short trip across the water tonight for a tilt at the Essex venue. He has three runners tonight but it is Teddybear Pops who I wanted to find out more about. The November ’15 whelp is making his Romford debut in the first heat of the Romford Friday night 500 standard at 7.51pm over 400 metres.

The son of Zero Ten and Cornmaddy Spin has predominately been running in sprints at Central Park over 265 metres, winning two open races from his last five attempts. He came second recently to the inform Lughill Robbie by only a short head which shows just how well he is running. Interestingly he has been entered for the standard competition and not the sprint competition over 225 metres that also starts tonight.
Trainer Barry O’Sullivan on Teddybear Pops said: “We thought we would try him over four bends. He has great early pace and in Ireland they said he would get 480 metres. The owner thinks he will get 400 metres but I’m not sure, questions marks for me.
“He is an aeroplane and is running really well at Central Park at the moment. I personally think he needs a longer run to the first bend. We tried him at Crayford over 380 metres but ran into the corner too fast and swung wide. He should be able to handle Romford better and the wider bends should benefit him. He is in trap three but I prefer him in the middle.
“It is a tricky race and we hope he leads with his early pace. We will see what happens and take it from there.”

Teddybear Pops is available with Corals at 8/1 and maybe worth some consideration. He is new to Romford but has sprinters pace. That could put him in a commanding position with a decent break and may be enough to see the job through.

Those who follow the open scene and especially the staying competitions will definitely know Dinnington Lady. Trained by the experienced Derek Ogden, the June ’15 whelp has been ever present on the stayers scene with semi-final appearances in the Grand Prix at Sunderland and Golden Jacket at Crayford and was a finalist in the Yorkshire St Leger at Doncaster. The daughter of Pinpoint Maxi and Lady Script has winning form at several tracks and they are Sheffield, Doncaster, Crayford and Sunderland. Those wins at those tracks came over distances of 660, 661, 714 and 640 metres. She has yet to run at Romford and 750 metres will be her longest attempt to date but will be looking to win first time up and claim the £1,000 prize for the one off race in the BGBF British Bred marathon at 9.26pm.

Trainer Derek Ogden on Dinnington Lady said: “She will get 800 metres easy, the distance won’t be a problem for her. She won at Crayford first time up in the Golden Jacket by around 6 lengths over 714 metres and was eliminated in the semi-final by only a short head.

“She has had dehydration problems and I’m going to keep her to one off races at the moment. The heat tomorrow [Friday] won’t bother her.

“Running at Romford for the first time will not bother her either. She likes tight tracks and won at Crayford first time up. I’m very happy with her draw in trap six. She doesn’t like anything on her outside. She is a very clever bitch and shows a lot of intelligence in running and as long as she is on the outside will be okay. She will not barge through any greyhounds but picks her way around.”

Dinnington Lady is a classy greyhound and the 4/7 being offered by Coral should be considered. It is short but she has proven herself against very good greyhounds and has won at tracks first time up.

 

Yarmouth trainer Kevin Boon is back at Romford tonight with two runners. One is stepping up to eight bends for the first time and the other is making his Romford debut.

First up for team Boon is Cookie Time in the same race as Dinnington Lady. Unlike the aforementioned the August ’16 has yet to get off to winning ways, with no wins from ten previous attempts. She has had one previous race over six bends and that was at Romford last month and was covered in your favourite column. The daughter of Farneys Cookie and Riverside Lucy since then has been running in four bend races but has struggled. Longer trips are clearly what she wants and eight bends could be ideal for her.

Trainer Kevin Boon on her said: “She has done all right but I’m a bit weary of stepping her up so soon. I’m giving her a go and see what happens. I’m confident she will stay. She is first to the pick up at Nottingham over 500 metres every time. Her dad Farneys Cookie stayed 600 metres so she only needs a bit more. We will know afterwards.

“Trap four won’t be a problem for her. She tends to run middle to wide so that is okay. If you don’t try you don’t know. I’m hoping she runs a good race.”

Next up for team Boon is Blackstone Fabia in a stayers race over 575 metres at 9.44pm. The March ’16 whelp has been running in open races over 650 and 680 metres at Kinsley and Nottingham, winning one at Nottingham. Getting the trip tonight is certainly not an issue with no question marks over his stamina. He has run over 500 metres at Nottingham on several occasions but seems to find it a bit tough going in the early exchanges. 575 metres tonight could be ideal for the son of Paradise Madison and Lemon Fabia.

Trainer Boon on Blackstone Fabia said: “He’s started to settle in properly at the kennels now. He definitely stays 575 metres as he has won over 680 metres. 575 metres could be ideal for him. He has a lot of middle pace and in time could get 750 metres.

“He is seeded rails but kept getting trap five at Nottingham. Four races on the trot he got trap five. He is a railer and will make his way to the rails. Trap three is much better for him. We will see what happens.

“I might put him around Towcester for the derby as I’m going there anyway but haven’t decided yet.”