If ever evidence was needed that the God of Trap Draws is a bookmaker, the 2023 Premier Premier Greyhound All England Cup Final would surely count as evidence.
With no wide seeds and three middles, it was always going to be ‘interesting’ but copiling his or her devious plan, he/she only slipped up once by giving Antigua Eclipse a repeat of his first round draw. For every other runner it is a case of ‘what do you think of your new jacket?’.
Antigua Eclipse: This is not a final awash with ‘known form’ and Nathan Hunt’s runner is typical of that. Known in Ireland as State Mint, he had four wins from eight races including a victory in a rare 500 yard contest at Tralee. The form is hard to evaluate though he is the fastest hound over course and distance in the 11 years since the record was set. A 28.28 trial at Cork is perhaps a better guide to his ability.
His UK record is identical four wins from eight outings with the best line of form being a 28.46 win for Nottingham’s 480 metres with local flyers Avongate Ross and the impressive Leighas Dream behind him and a race comment of “EP,ALd,EasedSough”.
Interestingly, in his career to date, he has run in the red jacket on seven occasions. His only defeats were on debut, behind a certain De Lahdedah and in the opening round of this event, where it has to be said, he could be considered more than a little unlucky. From trap two, he was outpaced early in his semi final behind Jonny Whiskers and made the best of a first bend opportunity on the rail to seal a qualifying place without ever looking a danger.
Probably the best drawn dog in the final and for a dog who came into the competition as a 16/1 chance, those 14s still on offer must rate as tremendous value.
Pape DI Oro: Savva Roberts dog was a 7/1 chance when he was beaten fair and square by Bogger Rambo in last week’s semi finals. Interestingly he was a 5/4 chance (T6) when beating Rambo (T4) in the Tipperary Cup Final at Thurles where he has the fastest run of the year, 28.55. In the first round of this event, he caused his own issues when moving to the middle from trap one.
His best UK race to date was probably in the ARC Classic Final at Sunderland just less than six weeks ago where he appeared to be giving Jonny Whiskers a running lesson until running out of steam by the third bend before rallying slightly late on.
The blue jacketed runner is priced at 16/1 for the final having failed in his six UK races to date. But if he shows his best early paced form, he could still play a significant role in the outcome.
Bogger Rambo: Came into the event as a 5/1 joint ante post favourite and has been exemplary in everything he has done to date.
Rambo’s Irish card shows nine wins in 20 races. His best runs would include a 28.51 (-10) run at Clonmel on the night that Hukum did 28.10, a 28.28 at Cork and a 28.29 at Limerick. He is a very good greyhound and gave Newcastle racegoers a glimpse of his ability in a trialstake on December 7.
in the opening round of this event he produced a very similar performance, with possibly even a little refinement on his first bend negotiation in the semi finals.
The noticeable theme, apart from consistent trapping and good early pace, has been Rambo’s red jacket. So the question is – is he draw dependent? based on his Irish form, probably not. He has won from all five inside boxes.
Worringly for his opposition, he seems to be getting better and better. Worryingly for punters taking the 7/4, there are only six spots difference in semi final sectionals between the four middle runners.
Swift Silly: Fourth in the original ante post betting, Raymond Hales’ blue brindle is hugely popular with the locals having won 10 of her 16 races to date and all with a ‘catch me if you can’ running style.
Her heat run was thoroughly professional and it says something for the esteem in which she is held that she was returned as short as 7/4 in a semi final where multi Cat One winner Brookside Richie was only fractionally shorter. She didn’t just “cheat the draw” to quote the commentator, she was magnificent in destroying a high class field.
The draw is slightly bizarre in that, for a middle seed, this is only the second time she has run from trap four. She was beaten on the first occasion, though only in the final stride.
To win the final, the Northern Flat runner-up will need to lead and will presumably need to trap better than in the semis – though she does have a 4.48 sectional in a trial. 2/1is not particularly generous though.
Jonny Whiskers: It is four months since Jonny Whiskers made an A1 winning debut in 29.00. He was beaten after leading next time out – but didn’t appear on a track again for another six weeks!
Races three, four and five were an impressive unbeaten run through the ARC Classic at Sunderland where he was a thorough merited winner. He came into the All England Cup as a 12/1 third favourite but was beaten after leading in the first round. In the semis though, he was ‘Staplers Jo like’ with a devastating burst to the third bend and minimal back pedalling thereafter.
It would be some feat to win two Category One competitions in eight race but Harry Burton’s runner looks more than capable of doing so. Of the first three in the betting, 9/4 is probably, slightly, the best value.
Witton Venus: The biggest priced runner to reach the final having started out as a 66/1 chance. There have been a few issues for the locally bred bitch in recent months and she still looked short of her best form in the opening round despite a battling performance.
It got even tougher in the semi finals is a messy race where she took advantage of trouble having also been caught in some to qualify.
It is understandable why Witton Venus is rated a 20/1 chance in the final. 1) She hasn’t been running at her optimum. 2) The draw is horrible 3) It is a very good final. But it isn’t so long ago that she broke the Sunderland 450m track record (26.41), set the fastest 462 time at Kinsley this year (27.32) and clocked 28.50 over course and distance. . .
Peter Harnden
James Pryce
Remembering 2023 – August
- It will be the most disruptive month in the Star’s eight and a half years as a website following the transfer to a new hosting site. The site is off-line for almost a week and its entire email record is lost.
- After only receiving 12 entries for the Ladbrokes Grand National, Crayford RM Danny Rayment concedes the event might be destined to go elsewhere. The final deservedly goes to Ricky Holloway’s Coppice Fox though it is far from a spectacle
- Ray Neal is appointed as the new stadium manager at Crayford.
- Greyhound Racing Victoria announce that an adapted version of the UK horseracing’s Goingstick technology to assess going.
- GBGB declare a National Greyhound Week.
- Glenvale Bill is an impressive winner of the Nottingham Puppy Classic for Graham Rankin but is then sold into the Janssens kennel. Who Have I, runner-up in the Irish Sprint Cup also joins Patrick Janssens and is renamed Slick Sabu.
- Entain announce an 8% increase in prize money and an extension of their GBGB bond top-up scheme until the end of the year.
- GBGB Trainers Representative Peter Harnden speaks out about the rehoming crisis facing the industry.
- Monmore staged one of the outstanding meetings of the year featuring the finals of the Ladbrokes Gold Cup and Summer Stayers Classic. The four bend decider went to Links Maverick won his third Category One race of the year in the Gold Cup and set the fastest 480 times since Droopys Buick six years earlier.The Stayers Classic produced a fabulous buckle between two outsanding greyhounds in Fromposttopillar and Droopys Clue. Less appreciated at the time was that the supporting card would feature the last race of one of the finest bitches of her generation, Fabulous Azurra. Having defended her British Bred Oaks title earlier in the month, Dave Firmager’s blue completed 45 races, of which she won 29 (64%) including three Cat One finals.
- Three of July’s English Derby finalists meet in the Jennisbet Selects Stakes but with very different result. The winner is Derby fifth Clona Duke, with Derby runner-up Romeo Command in third and Derby winner Gaytime Nemo trailing th field.
