Sponsors Betfred reacted quickly to Droopys Vodka’s first round success in the Gymcrack at Kinsley on Sunday, slashing their odds about the dog’s connections lifting the trophy on April 22 from 20-1 to 4-1 favourite as he quickly became a hot order.
Rapidly into his stride from the three box in heat one, the son of Droopys Scolari and Droopys Force made all the running to defeat Vatican Cohiba by four and a quarter lengths with the favourite Ballymac Manix a further length and a half back in third.
The clock of 27.58 proved to be the fastest of the round and trainer Jimmy Wright said: “This was only the third race of his life and we were delighted with him. He showed up well in his first run at Newcastle but second time out got led for the first time and I don’t think he knew what to do. He ran very green. He is only a September 2013 pup and we are learning about him all the time. I don’t know about the draw for the semi as I have never seen him come out of anything further out than three, but we had a few quid on yesterday and everything’s looking rosy this morning!”
The ante-post favourite Southfield Jock retained his place at the head of the market with a winning performance in the last qualifier. There must have been a few concerned supporters as he was led in the early stages by Swift Carter, but he took over going down the back straight and finished a half-length clear in 27.60.
Whatareaction proved a worthy favourite in heat two, Steve Atkinson’s youngster making all and holding Farloe Brae by threequarters of a length in 27.79, while Droopys Turin enjoyed a runaway six and threequarter-length victory over Aero Felony in 27.64 in the next.
Outdoor Rumble was all the rage for heat four but he couldn’t match strides early on with Ballymac Leo, who maintained the gallop to the line where he was threequarters of a length clear in 27.98, and the fifth qualifier saw another good front-running performance from Finlays Spark, who enjoyed a four-length advantage over runner-up Bubbly King at the finish in 28.69.
The draw for Sunday’s semi-finals is: 1st Semi – 1 Ballymac Leo, 2 Outdoor Rumble, 3 Sparta Nelson, 4 Ballymac Manix, 5 Droopys Genoa, 6 Southfield Jock (m).
2nd Semi – 1 Whatareaction, 2 Farloe Brae, 3 Yesnomaybeso, 4 Droopys Vodka, 5 Bodell Spark, 6 Vatican Cohiba.
3rd Semi – 1 Swift Carter, 2 Finlays Spark, 3 Droopys Turin, 4 Stay Loose, 5 Bubbly King (m), 6 Aero Felony (6).
