Eight open races this afternoon culminating in the RPGTV English Puppy Derby Final. It’s yet again a magnificent card for greyhound racing enthusiasts to get stuck into. Attendances at these Sunday afternoon meetings at Towcester have been superb and promoter Kevin Boothby must be applauded for his foresight into turning the afternoon into one of the most enjoyable in the sport.
TRC Events & Leisure Sprint action over 270m to get us underway at 1.57pm. The claims of Laurence Tuffin’s Into The Void are clear and he’s a dog bang in form having won a £1,500 final down at Romford only last week. The concern would be returning direct from those traps to these without the benefit of a trial however and though he may well ping and justify what are likely to be short odds the sensible decision from a punting point of view at least would have to be to seek out value elsewhere. On that basis the selection is John Mullins Pennys Oxo who can be forgiven last weeks missed break effort over course and distance and wouldn’t be far off at all if coming away today.
TRC Events & Leisure Maiden Stayers over 712m at 2.12pm where the eye is immediately taken to Jason Foster’s Eske on UK debut. He has the potential to go on to become a fair stayer here in the UK and though he’s selected it’s with a huge note of caution. He’s poorly drawn out in trap 5 though and he’ll be seeking a pitch nearer the rail at the earliest opportunity. This race could get very messy before Eske gets chance to get a run and the likely culprit will be Ballybough Daly. Seamus Gaughan is a shrewd trainer so I can only guess he’s seen something in ‘Daly’ that I’ve missed and that being the case ‘Daly’ might well pop out stick to the rail like glue and run out a ready winner confirming Gaughan’s assessment of a dog that he obviously would know a lot better than myself. On the balance of probabilities however and all things considered the wisest decision would be to leave your money in your pocket and take the opportunity to grab one of Towcester’s fantastic burgers and a pint.
TRC Events & Leisure Maiden over 500m is next at 2.32pm and this looks a match between the inside pairing. It’s difficult to split the pair in reality and it could turn into the race of the day. Slight preference and it is very slight is for Jason Bloomfields’s Son Of Spoofer who might just be a little bit more forward than Patrick Janssens Deelish Frankie at this stage. ‘Frankie’ is a younger half-brother to the likes of Ballymac Merlin and Ballymac Belvult two classy sorts and ‘Deelish’ looks to have the potential to be every bit as good as them. He might just need this debut though and on this occasion at least I’m siding with ‘Spoofer’. Though both of these greyhounds are young pups there is a lot to be learned in 7 months at this kind of age and that is the substantial gap between the January 2020 whelped ‘Spoofer’ and the July 2020 whelped ‘Deelish’. It could be another race to simply watch and enjoy but there shouldn’t be much between the pair in a clean run race.
TRC Events & Leisure Stayers over 712m at 2.52pm and the selection is an obvious one. Steve Rayner’s Night Time Baby is perfectly housed against the rail to ping out and make every post a winning one. If she does lead it’s difficult to see her beaten and warrants a fair wager.
Premarket Pets Blue Riband Trial Stakes action at 3.11pm and Patrick Janssens can see his Romeo De Niro back on the winner’s podium. Eliminated from the English Puppy Derby at last week’s semi-final stage this race is a little easier and with his normal break he can be in control by the time they hit the third bend. He should comfortably gain control of the rail from Richard Rees Amazing Wink and that’s the key to the race. Vicki Lea has Midfield Duke in flying early paced form around here and he can once again show up well but the suspicion is he’ll be done for stamina rounding the final two bends by the selection.
More Premarket Pets Blue Riband Stakes action at 3.28pm and Patrick Janssens can once again provide the winner. Oneforthelake is a talented greyhound who enjoys the challenge that Towcester provides. It would be no surprise if this dog improved to become one of Janssens leading contenders for next year’s Derby and though beaten in a Romford 575m final last time out he can get back to winning ways here. He’s fancied to lead at the turn but given the make up of the race it wouldn’t be a total disaster if he just sat handily off the pace. He looks a solid selection even accounting for the short price.
Prospective runners for the forthcoming Premarket Pets Blue Riband can’t say they’re not getting chance to gain experience of the track as we have yet more trial stakes action at 348pm. The winner can come from a now familiar source as Patrick Janssens Aussie Captain can smash out and lead all the way. A topical selection as well as one derived from the head with England currently taking a battering from their southern hemisphere rivals in the Ashes series. ‘Captain’ can lead all the way from a perfect draw with Mark Wallis’s Balterio looking the obvious selection to follow him home for second and boost up the return via a straight forecast.
The main event of the day the RPGTV English Puppy Derby Final. Kevin Hutton’s kennel have been in flying form of late and he can land yet another big competition with his January 2020 whelped Signet Denver. Drawn a little wider than ideal here but the race make up should ensure that he receives enough space on the run up to utilise his excellent early pace to full advantage. Given that he leads at the first turn as anticipated it should then be a race against the clock for a youngster firmly heading the right way and who looks all set to enjoy a huge 2022. John Mullins Callmesteve can stay on against the rail to claim second.
