Dual Category One action at Perry Barr

The PGR St Leger and M Lambe Birmingham Cup have their finals tonight.

There is a full slate of 12 open races on the card at Perry Barr this evening. Joe has a runner-by-runner guide for both the St Leger and Birmingham Cup already on the site.

On the undercard, the 8.11 is one of the most interesting races. A 275m contest, it sees Magical Bluebear taking on Cree Jo Jo once more but with a couple of crack locals in Cappaneale Rocky and Headford Sonny added to the mix.

The stayers race at 9.02 is another that is going to attract plenty of viewers. Toddys Thunder, Greenwell Ange and Savana Jackpot were all St Leger semi-final runners last week while Lamorna Lexi missed out on last week by a small margin.

Links Maverick is in action at 9.36 in an early-paced battle with Aero Sacundai. Between the pair is Whyaye Man who will be looking to pick up the pieces close home if that pair take one another on too hard early.

Don’t forget that there is a Sportystuff watchalong with Jason Barresford, Tony Bullen and other guests covering the quality racing on show.

Romford Puppy Cup set for exciting conclusion

The final six in the Coral Romford Puppy Cup were found last night.

It was Gingers Prince who set the standard for Patrick Browne with a smart 23.89. Tipped up ante-post at 33/1 by Joe Conneely, he never sighted another rival, seeing off Kim Billingham’s Newinn Souly who had to overcome some trouble.

The clash between Fire And Ice and Untold Rufiyaa looked the tastiest of the round and it didn’t disappoint. The latter got up by half a length as the line approaches to land a thriller. They are drawn the other way around in the final with Matt Dartnall’s dog back on the rails and Tom Heilbron’s in the middle.

Roanna Mamba landed the other semi-final for Michelle Brown. The son of Pestana has taken his dad’s early zip, his dam’s best form coming over 570y at Tralee. Ritz To Rubble took the runner-up spot behind him for Roy Peckham.

The sectionals of the pups were sensational, the slowest to the line first time 3.76, just 10 spots behind the quickest. It is going to be all on the break in the £10,000 final next Friday and may the best pup win!

Semi-final night at Doncaster

The Yorkshire Derby and the British Bred St Leger reach the semi-final stage.

Romeo Command was the star of the show last week for Patrick Janssens. His 29.24 was the fourth quickest of the year but the most impressive thing about it was that it came in a heat that had looked hugely competitive beforehand. He is in the first Yorkshire Derby semi-final at 8.34.

Caught in the dying strides by Romeo Command last week was Droopys Doughnut. A fellow Janssens kennel mate, he has his draw in stripes which is going to help him in semi-final two at 8.52.

The final semi is at 9.09 where three of the heat winners last week are all in action. It’s been good to see Tom Heilbron’s Untold Euro win both starts since getting knocked over in the final of the Ladbrokes Gold Cup. Colliers Brynner and Bellmore Ozzy also won their heats while Romeo Steel was beaten a short head in his.

Over six bends, the defending BGBF St Leger champion Fabulous Dyna was the fastest last week in the heats. She is in the opening semi at 7.24 for Lawrence Tuffin. The second semi at 7.42 has Fabulous Tempo who was the second fastest qualifier in action for Jason Gray.

Other Saturday opens

Central Park, Monmore and Oxford will also host open action on Saturday evening.

For those looking for a night out, there is plenty of quality racing all around the country. Three other tracks will also be in action with open races on a busy Saturday night.

There are two Kent Derby trial stakes at Central Park where beaten Derby finalist King Memphis has his first race since Towcester. He takes on his litter brother King Combs who was a slick winner of a trial stake last week in 28.98. The 7.44 will see them in action. The other trial stake at 8.54 features bet365 Hunt Cup winner Havana Top Note who will be looking to make it a great night for the Liz McNair team.

At Monmore, the feature is the 8.31, a 480m final. Two of the three heats last week were won by a short head, with nine spots covering five of the six runners. The odd one out is Arthur Crumpet for Patrick Godfrey who was the quickest qualifier by a touch over three lengths.

Five opens at Oxford features a pair of Category Three finals. The sprint at 8.26 sees new track record holder My Lennie line up for Adam Sear. The other at 8.43 is a four bend maiden contest.

Laurels Quarter-finals

The final 24 line up for the Cork competition on Saturday night with the competition opened up after the exit of the ante-post favourite last week.

Just 14 spots covers the six runners in the first quarter-final at 9.20 on their recent runs at the track. Droopys Bookem has made an unbeaten start to his career for John Linehan. A litter brother to Callaway Knegare, he is a powerful sort who could be a monster over six bends in 2025.

2/1 Droopys Bookem 11/4 Seek The Kingdom 3/1 Crafty Alejandro, Hazelhill Bucko 6/1 Ballycowen Bell 8/1 Drombeg Rio

The second quarter-final sees 2023 Boylesports Irish Derby winner The Other Kobe lining up. He has Grangeclare Lady to his immediate left and fellow Graham Holland inmate Romeo Taylor out in six as his two biggest dangers. The 9.35 is the strongest of the heats with these three all in the top six in the outright betting.

7/4 The Other Kobe 5/2 Grangeclare Lady, Romeo Taylor 9/2 Evolution, High Trend 20/1 Bouncing Lad

Quarter-final three at 9.50 has the only odds on favourite of the four heats in Crafty Shivoo. She overcame what looked on paper a treacherous draw last week for Pat Norris. Her early pace can see her safely though to the semis next Saturday night.

4/7 Crafty Shivoo 5/2 Faypoint Harvey 4/1 Romeo Falco 5/1 Droopys Supply 16/1 Pilot Scheme 20/1 Danish Ruby

The card finishes at 10.05 with Road Exile looking to channel his opening round form for Pat Buckley. No match for Grangeclare Lady last week, he was comfortably in front of the re-opposing Droopys Polish in the opening round.

7/4 Road Exile 3/1 Droopys Polish 10/3 Tinahue Pappone 4/1 Gaytime Elmo, Lemon Mick 8/1 Getup Me Lad

Stats

  • Ballymac Cline – 7.06 Monmore – 9/16 from the striped jacket.
  • Kevinsfort Duke – 8.01 Central Park – 8/14 in D1 grade from trap five.
  • Droopys Bookem – 9.20 Cork – Yet to be beaten at the track, 4/4 so far.
  • Droopys Clue – 9.52 Perry Barr – A perfect 5/5 at the track.
  • Visitor – 10.04 Romford – 5/9 when running in A6 from trap two.

Opens

Saturday: Central Park♦ Doncaster♦ Perry Barr
Sunday: Crayford♦ Sheffield