Hove staged possibly the tightest open race of the year on Thursday night with a blanket finish in a sprint maiden.
With enough incident to describe a whole meeting, the first two over the line, Ohmakneeliz and Jota El Ray dead heated. Half a length back was the subsequently disqualified Droopys Shona. The last three home then followed sh, 1/2, sh, meaning the entire field were covered by just 11 spots.
The performance of the night (possibly!) though went to Broadstrand Kiwi (Forest Master-Droopys Twirl, Aug 15). Already the quickest hound over the sprint course this year, with a 16.12 run, the fawn went event quicker when landing a £500 285m decider in 16.04 (TR 15.89).
It was a particularly good night for trainer Paul Young who also saw Jaytee Spartacus win his first race in 51 weeks. The 2016 Monmore Gold Cup, who suffered an apparent career ending injury in last year’s Kent Derby Final, bombed around the Hove 475m in 27.59 on normal going (TR 27.42).
