Roxholme Jim (5/4f) and Trade Fudge (3/1) headed the betting for the first semi final of the RPGTV Steel City Cup and it was they who dominated proceedings and booked their places in next weeks final.
Daniel Brabon’s Trade Fudge has some top class form around Central Park and Hove , last weeks third when qualifying from his heat here at Owlerton Stadium wasn’t at that kind of level. He did what all class greyhounds do though , he dug in and qualified.
This semi final performance was much more like it however , a good break aligned with a poor start from his main rival , saw Fudge pace up well on the wide outside before cutting the bend and setting sail for victory. Hayley Keightley’s Roxholme Jim , as previously mentioned , made a mess of the start , he appeared to screw to the right and simply got it all badly wrong.
With just seven races under his belt and laying in last place as they crossed the line first time , that would have signalled the end for most novice greyhounds.
This is a clever dog though , not for him the passage he took through the middle in last weeks heat, that path looked surely blocked on this occasion , this week it was a clever step to his right in order to circle the field around the first two bends, moving again from an improbable looking position into the second qualifying slot by the time the runners emerged off the second turn.
Fudge had a two length lead as they headed down the back , reduced slightly by Jim by the third turn , but from this point on the result didn’t really look in doubt as Fudge ran out a 2 1/2 length victor in 2901 (-40).
Those with a good eye will have noticed how far clear Fudge had pulled by the pick up , on that evidence , a tilt over further wouldn’t be out of the question at some point further down the line. Both sets of connections will be pleased to qualify for the final and it would be a fool who ruled out either from landing the trophy.
The second semi final saw last years champion look to qualify for the final yet again.
Roxholme Nidge (EvsF) had run well for a long way before tiring coming off the last bend in his heat to qualify in second place.
Nidge needed to trap more smartly in his semi final and so he did. Aided by a slow start from Droopys Expert (3/1) he quickly took command of the rail and held off the challenge of the inward moving Ballymac Miscula. Running an excellent first two bends, Nidge was a good four lengths clear of Expert as they headed down the back straight, it looked a case of Nidge against the clock. Expert wasn’t to be denied though, the gap had been closed to just over a couple of lengths by the time they reached the third and by the time they reached the final turn the writing was on the wall.
Expert moved around the outside of Nidge , the pair briefly bumping as Nidge moved off and Expert attempted to get back on the rail. Having looked a certain winner, Nidge was now all out to hold off the strong late challenge of Lemon Ronald. He did, just, by a head, finishing 3/4 of a length behind the winner who recorded 2927 (-40).
Jimmy Fenwick and connections will be hugely disappointed not to qualify for the final , after first bend trouble , Ronald run some race to be so narrowly denied by two greyhounds of the class of Expert and Nidge.
He looks a strong running sort who might just find the 500m of Nottingham right up his street in a couple of months time. The Harrison and Keightley camps will be delighted to see their greyhounds qualify for such a prestigious final.
Droopys Verve (4/9f) headed into the traps for semi final three as a strong odds on favourite.
This greyhound is all class but he had to overcome a far from perfect draw against the rail in trap 1 and a poor start didn’t aid his chances one bit. There were other top class greyhounds in this semi final , this wasn’t just the Verve show, Sean Parker’s Lightfoot King (7/2) reached the Scottish Derby final in 2018 and although he’d lost a little sparkle and had some time off the track since, Sean has really got King sparkling again.
He backed up a superb performance when winning his heat by flying from the lids and taking this semi final in style. After taking an early lead , King drew further clear the further he went , eventually running out a 4 1/2 length winner over the running on Verve in a top class time of 2880 (-40).
It wasn’t Verve’s night , but after a troubled early passage , he did what all class competition greyhounds do , he battled and claimed that second qualifying spot.
This years RPGTV Steel City Cup looked to be a competition of huge quality , the final line up highlights that to perfection.
