Ladbrokes Gold Cup and Summer Stayers semi-finals

*** 7.22 Monmore – Droopys Clue (Evs Ladbrokes)
** 8.13 Monmore – Cunnigar Yousir (13/8 Ladbrokes)
*7.39 Monmore – Romeo Steel (9/1 Ladbrokes)
*7.56 Monmore – Baywatch Bullet (5/1 Ladbrokes)

The semi-finals of the Ladbrokes Gold Cup and Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic are upon us and what a night we have in store with some ultra-competitive races.

Semi-final one of the Ladbrokes Gold Cup at 7.06 can go to the well-drawn Antigua Eagle from trap five who got it wrong at the traps last week. Breton Brigitte in trap four will be edging across so if Antigua Eagle breaks better than last week he can find himself in a winnable position coming out of the second bend.

If Breton Brigitte comes away running, she can chase home Antigua Eagle to qualify for next week’s final.

Value Bet One

Semi-final two at 7.39 is an absolute belter full of brute early speed. Romeo Steel in trap one, Aero Sacundai in trap two, Vixons Filofax in three, Seaview Sydney in four, Coolavanny Mercy in five and ante post favourite Churchfield Syd in trap six.

If Churchfield Syd traps how he did last week he will take some beating but I’m going to be with Romeo Steel at a big price who has the draw in one.

I wasn’t impressed with his overall run last week when easily caught by Coolavanny Mercy but his early pace after not trapping how he can was impressive. At a big price, if he manages to break better and use the draw to his advantage he can run well with Churchfield Syd also making next week’s final.

Saturday Next Best

Nathan Hunt can continue where he left off by taking semi-final three at 8.13 with Cunnigar Yousir from trap one.

He was majorly impressive when winning last week’s heat in a very professional manner beating Beaming Panther and being in trap one again can see him lead and win. Romeo Jackson ran a big race behind Churchfield Syd last week and he can chase home Cunnigar Yousir to also qualify for the final.

Saturday Nap

The first semi-final of the Ladbrokes Summer Stayers Classic at 7.22 sees the top two in the betting go head to head.

New Destiny in trap one and Droopys Clue in trap four as well as other big race winners including Coonough Crow and Havana Top Note.

I really fancy Droopys Clue to return to his best here and dominate from the third bend. New Destiny is consistently coming away and if doing so again she could lead at the bend. If Droopys Clue comes away, however, his four-bend speed will see him in front of New Destiny by the time they reach the winning line the first time around. If leading at any stage, Droopys Clue will go on to land the spoils with New Destiny chasing him home in second to qualify.

Value Bet Two

Semi-final two at 7.56 sees odds on Cooladerry Dust run from trap five having gone fastest of the round in the opening heats with a sparkling 37.41 run. However, I’m going to take him on here with Baywatch Bullet from trap two who can break better than she did last week when running behind Queen Georgia.

Baywatch Bullet got the better of Cooladerry Dust in the Regency Final recently and now having a run out of the 630 boxes again can hopefully see her trap much better this week to take semi-final two with Cooladerry Dust also qualifying.

Semi-final three at 8.31 is all about Queen Georgia from trap one. She is 4/6 with the sponsors to win the race and any kind of run similar to last week’s heat demolition sees her flying into next week’s final. Being drawn inside the trappy Trickys Matilda has helped her cause and I fully expect her to dominate from start to finish with Savana Jackpot running on to qualify in second in what looks like a solid forecast.

Willwego.com Irish St Leger Final

All eyes at 9.38 tonight will be on Limerick and the tight-knit decider of the Willwego.com Irish St Leger.

The best times in the competition so far for four of the six finalists are covered by just seven spots. Favourite for the €30,000 final is the defending champion Clonbrien Treaty. He has led up in each round but won for the first time last week. He appears to be peaking at the right time for Graham Holland.

Jaytee Craze’s 29.43 from round two saw him a neck in front of fellow Paul Hennessy-trained Barefoot On Fire. They are the two quickest race times produced by finalists in the completion, though Ventry Faith (Owen McKenna) came alive in the semis last week with a 29.47.

Coolavanny Otto (Pat Buckley) is yet to win a round but has improved his clock with each run. Garry Dempsey only has one dog currently in training and that is Miami King who rounds out the sextet.

Time Juvenile Derby – Round Two

Shelbourne is set for another night of exceptional juvenile action.

After the shock departure of ante post favourite Yorkie Ollie last week, Callaway Knegare (Owen McKenna) and House Martin (Peter Cronin) head the market. The 28.14 win of the former in the final heat eight nights back set the opening round standard. The pair made their debuts on June 15 in the same heat of the Denis Linehan Solicitors Unraced at Cork, separated by half a length.

House Martin is in heat two tonight while Callaway Knegare is in heat three. The latter looks the toughest of the heats with four of the six opening-round winners all drawn together. House Martin finds himself in a heat where none of last week’s winners are found. Breaghmore Dice (M.J Corrigan) and Grangeclare Lady (McKenna) were the other two winners who are in heats one and four respectively.

Other Saturday open races

Away from Monmore, there are also open races tonight at Perry Barr and Doncaster.

Lively Lauren returns to the former tonight for the first time since missing out by a short heat on a place in the St Leger Final last September. She races over 660m rather than 710m tonight for Matt Dartnell in the 8.11. A short head separated Swizz Star and Darley Diglake last week, they clash again in the 9.20 over 480m

At Doncaster, Phil Milner’s Keefil Maverick headlines an excellent final race. He is back down to 450m after his smart 483m win on his last visit and faces a pair of Barry Denby-trained rivals, Clonkeen Syd and Bellmore Ozzy.

Syd was no match for Maverick in that 483m contest, but he has found his groove over this distance. Ozzy is a slick starter who won five straight over this track and trip from June 20 to July 27.

Time Greyhound Nutrition July Greyhound of the Month

Aero Sacundai is the Time Greyhound Nutrition Greyhound of the Month for July after his success in the BetGoodwin Pall Mall at Oxford.

Trained by Richie Taberner for the Aero Racing Syndicate of Stuart Forsdike, Mike Woolgar, Geoff Ansley and Monmore trainer Taberner himself, the Feb 22 son of Ballymac Cashout runs in tonight’s Ladbrokes Gold Cup semis at the Wolverhampton track.

Last month’s winner was English Derby champion De Lahdedah.

Select Stayers field announced

Nottingham has released the field for the Select Stayers which will be run on August 26.

The runners for the Jenningsbet Select Stayers are: Bubbly Scorcher (Paul Young), Fabulous Dyna (Laurence Tuffin), Vale Bluebell (Jill Llewellin), Untold Kuna (Tom Heilbron), Untold Shah (m) (Tom Heilbron), Hawk (w) (Richie Taberner).

Stats

  • Slaneyside Vardy – 3.03 Youghal – 9/13 in A2 grade.
  • Diego Kryptonite – 5.14 Youghal – 7/11 drawn in stripes in A3
  • New Destiny – 7.22 Monmore – A perfect 6/6 at the track so far.
  • Kanturk Range – 7.31 Oxford – 5/9 in A1 when drawn in trap two.
  • Ballintemple Dan – 9.01 Oxford – Yet to be beaten in D1 here, 4/4.
  • Clonbrien Treaty – 9.38 Limerick – 6/9 record from the six box here.

Opens

Saturday: Doncaster
Sunday: Crayford ♦ Sheffield ♦ Towcester