The outright betting for the Ladbrokes Gold Collar gives some indication of the competitive nature of the event with the sponsors quoting 9-2 joint favourites Ribble Aon and Swabys Millward followed by 5-1 Yahoo Victor, 6-1 Pretty Lane, 7-1 Gubu
Lord Hesketh’s Ribble Aon (Kinloch Brae-Zaras Fantasy, Aug 13) made her appearance from trap three in the first heat of Saturday’s opening round where she shared 7-4 favouritism with kennelmate Swift Whirlwind. The litter sister of Swift Merlot showed similar early pace to led all the way and clock 33.61 for the 540m.
Heat two was dominated in the early stages by local A1 runner Zenas Nidge (T5) but his second attempt at the extra two bends ended in the same way as his first when he was reeled in by S1 regular Yahoo Victor (Mall Brandy-Yahoo Carmel, Jun 14). The red jacketed 6-4f was four spots off his last S1 win when crossing the line in the slowest qualifier, 33.74.
Dranoel (6-4f) and Best Boy Ethan (5-1) both recorded 33.76 in their last wins over course and distance but it was Dean Childs’ 5-1 chance who came out on top. Best Boy Ethan (Ace Hi Rumble-Droopys Elsa, Dec 12) led from box to beam in 33.71.
The final heat produced the fastest time and the most exciting of the qualifiers. The early running was cut out by Swabys Millward (T4 6-4f) who clocked the night’s joint fastest sectional. But he was pursued and beaten on merit by Ricky Holloway’s Gubu (David Bale-Bua Laverham, Jan 14) who got home by a neck in 33.54.
SEMI FINAL DRAW
