The final of the Gain Greyhound Nutrition Sovereign Stakes staged over Towcester’s 270m sprint trip and with a winner’s prize of £5000 is the highlight of today’s card. Supported by two semi-finals of the Bet365 Puppy Oaks along with 3 trial stakes for the forthcoming RPGTV English Puppy Derby all 6 races are previewed by Mark Pierrepont –
The first of two Bet365 Puppy Oaks semi-finals takes place at 212pm. Paul Matthews Irish raider BUBBLY BLUEBELLE put in a sensational performance when winning her first-round heat and in the process beating off her leading rival in this first semi-final today in the shape of Angie Kibble’s Ballymac Mags. Though beaten into third position in last week’s second round Bluebelle showed incredible pace in behind after a very slow start. The move to trap 4 today could well assist on the trapping front and conversely the move from the same box last week to trap 1 today for Mags could well work against her. There is little doubt that on the whole a middle draw is more advantageous from a trapping perspective and given Bluebelle comes away in reasonable style she will be very difficult to hold. Mags looks the obvious pick to finish second whilst Minnies Bullet for Mark Wallis can claim the third and final spot in next week’s final despite being drawn a fair bit wider than she’d find ideal out in trap 6.
The second of the Bet365 Puppy Oaks semi-finals looks there for the taking for Seamus Cahill’s lightly raced and fast improving MY GIRL MIA. Starting life off at home track Hove in graded company she was beaten although very far from disgraced when giving glimpses of her undoubted potential in her first two races at A3 level. After those though things really clicked into place with wins in A3 and A2 quickly followed by an A1 double to complete a four timer. A hard-fought trial stake victory for this competition was followed up with a much improved albeit runner up effort behind Makeit Swallow in the first round of the competition proper prior to last week’s impressive second round victory. Mia is really heading in the right direction and from what looks a really nice make up can make all from her trap 2 draw this afternoon. Barry Draper’s Slaneyside Friend can claim second whilst Belinda Green’s Selsey Bullet can run on strongly to claim the third and final remaining place in next week’s final.
The first of 3 RPGTV English Puppy Derby Trial Stakes takes place at 328pm. A tough race and one which could well see ROMEO TOP CAT a little shorter in the betting than he possibly should be but even so it’s difficult to oppose Patrick Janssens strong running and improving pup. The move to trap 1 isn’t sure to be ideal but the presence of Frank Gray’s Makeitkingsydney in trap 2 can only help. Gray’s charge is sure to set the fractions up front which should give Top Cat plenty of space in behind. It’ll not be easy and Top Cat can’t afford any mistakes but he should sit just off the pace before coming through with a strong late run to claim the spoils.
The main event of the afternoon with the £5000 final of the category two Gain Greyhound Nutrition Stakes over 270m. The betting is likely to centre around the John Mullins trained BALLYMAC SLAPUP and Eric Cantillon’s Newtown Sydney and if both greyhounds come away it could turn into the race of the day. Preference albeit a marginal one is for Slapup who heads into today’s final in arguably the best form of his career. Cantillon’s Newtown Sydney has to be one of the fastest sprinters in the UK and if he could manage to sort his inconsistent trapping out he would become pretty close to unbeatable. His pace once his feet touch the floor is a sight to behold but presently slow starts hinder him at times. He overcame a hugely slow break last week (admittedly from trap 1) to come through and win his semi-final in a still top class 1577. Can he give any kind of start and a beating to Slapup though that would be debateable. Slapup to trap out and make all in a thrilling finish which can see Sydney claiming second.
The second RPGTV English Puppy Derby Trial Stake of the afternoon at 408pm can go to Liz McNair’s KING EZRA who looks a super bet at anything around evens or above. Drawn to perfection between two greyhounds not particularly noted for their trapping ability the pacy Ezra who recorded 2957 in his trial last week can gain his first win at this track on his seventh attempt. He’s not known for flying the lid but he’s usually fairly consistently away and that should be all he needs today in order to secure himself a very cheap lead by the second bend. Once in front he can really stretch them out. The best bet on today’s card by some considerable margin.
The third and final RPGTV English Puppy Derby Trial stake of the day at 448pm should see Liz McNair secure a quickfire double with her HAVANA PLAYBOY selected to land the spoils. Very pacy once in front inconsistent starts have so far prevented Playboy from showcasing his ability to full extent on a regular basis but there have been more than enough examples in trials and competitive starts to show that if he does sort his trapping out he could go on to become a really nice type. Although not as confident a selection as Ezra he is also drawn to secure a cheap lead given anything like a start.
