GENCO PUPPY INVITATION FINAL
Jimmy Fenwick’s Wicky Ned is one of the most promising youngsters in the UK and his sensational early and middle pace is likely to take him far. He scorched from the lids on way to a 3 length heat victory on Sunday in 2885 and though this final is tougher a similar performance should be enough.
Patrick Janssens Answering was reeled in on the run in by the Mark Wallis trained Table Toppers who has showcased why he arrived in the UK with such a lofty reputation with a number of performances out of the top drawer. It’s arguable that his best performance to date came over course and distance two runs ago when narrowly touched off by the 2023 English Derby semi finalist Burj Khalifa. Vastly less experienced than a rival who interestingly hailed from the same Newry set up of Brendan Matthews prior to beginning their UK careers it was a performance which suggested this July 2022 son of Droopys Sydney and Dolce Vita has a big future ahead.
John Mullins saw his Littlers Nuke perform another admirable race in behind Graham Holland’s Irish raider Romeo Steel but with the winning clocking 2950 compared to the 2885 of Ned there will need to be a considerable improvement on the clock if there is to be an upset.
Patrick Janssens Slick Sentinel was comfortably beaten into second by Ned in their heat on Sunday and from a draw wider than ideal out in six it’s difficult to see that form being reversed.
Ned will not be sent off at big odds but that’s for very good reason and with a ping break from trap 3 more than a possibility the cheers could very well be sent up from the crowd before they hit the winning line first time. Those looking to add in a little bit of juice to their returns could do worse than include Table Toppers to run another solid race in second.
SELECTION 3-2-1
Betting guide 20/1 7/2 4/5 20/1 7/2 10/1
Heat 1 Table Toppers T4 beats off Answering T1
Heat 2 Romeo Steel T3 beats off Littlers Nuke T2
Heat 3 Wicky Ned T1 beats off Slick Sentinel T5
HOPE JEAL SPRINT TROPHY FINAL PREVIEW
Richie Taberner’s Aero Sacundai heads the early prices for Saturday’s Hope Jeal Sprint Trophy Final at Towcester after he followed up a promising first look at Towcester when finishing second in his heat behind Kila Detail with a dominant semi final victory last weekend when beating off Mustang Ojay by 4 1/4 lengths in a time just 1 spot slower than the 1542 track record set by Pat Buckley’s Flashing Willow in his heat of the same competition (then the RPGTV Watling Street Sprint) back in 2022. Sacundai was failed to win in two races in Ireland but showed enough pace to tempt Taberner and connections into buying him for a career here in the UK and his form since arriving over has definitely justified that faith. Given his Ballymac Cashout out of Beaming Smasher breeding aligned with the fact he recorded 2813 in a Shelbourne Park trial just before heading across the Irish sea there is every reason to suggest Sacundai will be holding his own amongst top class opposition over further in the year ahead with some of the category one competition over the shorter four bend courses likely to prove ideal. That’s in the future though and his first assignment is to land this £2500 final on Derby Final night and if trapping from the one box then he’s sure to take some amount of beating. That’s an if however as trap 1 wouldn’t be the best box at this venue over the sprint trip with which to be seeking a flying start. Sure he might not need to catapult from the lids to win with a moderate enough start likely to still see him in contention but this is far from a one dog affair.
AERO SACUNDAI (t3) leads early to win Hope Jeal Sprint Trophy semi final 2.
Towcester 22nd June 2024
Photo: © Steve Nash
Peter Harnden’s Salacres Buzz has time to find on the clock but has found improvement with each race since landing a gamble of some magnitude in a graded sprint here at the end of May. Winning his heat in good style Buzz ran arguably his best race on UK soil to date when running second behind Bombout Bullet in last weeks semi final. Trap 4 was far from ideal on that occassion and he’s likely to be much more at home running from the blue jacket of trap 2 on Saturday.
Belinda Green’s Bombout Bullet meanwhile is firmly established as one of the leading sprinters in the UK and heads into this looking to complete a four time. Bullet had gone without a win in 3 starts prior to landing a Hove open and subsequently heat and semi final of this competition in good style and with a smash break from trap 3 more than a possibility here the 2023 National Sprint Champion is likely to take some amount of beating.
Kevin Hutton’s Mustang Ojay had rattled off a hat trick around Oxford prior to heading to here and though doing well to qualify for the final he’s now without a win in 3 starts at the track and will need to put up a much improved performance if he’s to get off the mark from what is a ponderous looking draw in trap 4.
Maxine Locke’s Droopys Rarity has won around here but the suspicion is that he’s better over the short four bend distances such as home track Romford where he has a good level of form and he’ll need a career best if he’s to land this whilst Bettys Jack for Kevin Boon will also need to take a flyer if he’s to over turn his odds on heat defeat to Salacres Buzz and then a comfortable semi final defeat in behind Bombout Bullet and again Peter Harnden’s ‘Buzz’.
Aero Sacundai is the most sensible selection as a level enough start should see him just about squeezing around the first bend in front and if he did take a flyer then it would be race over within two strides. He’s likely to be priced exceptionally short though for a greyhound running from the red box however and with similar concerns at least on price applying to Bombout Bullet the temptation is to look for a greyhound likely to be over priced. That runner could very well be Peter Harnden’s Salacres Buzz who though likely not to put up a time as fast as the aforementioned pair would likely do if going clear could very well make the bend his own if trapping in front and this likeable sort can set sail for victory.
SELECTION 2-1-3
Betting guide 1/1 14/1 2/1 10/1 25/1 8/1
Semi final 1 Bombout Bullet T2 beats off Salacres Buzz T4 & Bettys Jack T6
Semi final 2 Aero Sacundai T3 beats off Mustang Ojay T4 & Droopys Rarity T5
Opens
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Friday: Romford♦Sunderland
Sunday:
