It was a case of third time lucky for 16-1 outsider Volcanic Reef who landed the Cat 1 Coral Winter Derby at Hove on Saturday night.
Heather Dimmock’s 38 kilo black who had finished fourth in the 2019 Winter Derby behind King Turbo and fourth behind King Sheeran in the Olympic, had shown good early pace in the first round of this year’s competition but had been less than fluent around the third bend and had been overtaken by King Sheeran.
Drawn white in the final, he once again bombed away, but was aided and abetted by kennelmate Make No Apologie who took the favourite’s preferred line at the first bend and effectively ended his chances. Antigua Romeo set off in pursuit of the leader and once again ran a game race before his stamina began to tell.
It was left to King Lennon, contesting his sixth Cat 1 final to chase home the leader who never looked in serious danger. His winning time of 29.25 (-30) was arguably the best run of his career.
Adam Duncan from the Jabber Crew Syndicate said: “I think he nearly knocked the door off its hinges at the traps and thankfully he ran the third bend a lot better than his last two races. He is getting stronger and stronger as he gets older.
“We’ll possibly be looking at the Derby but the Steel City Cup starts in three weeks and that also comes into our thinking.”
The Jabber Crew brave the elements for the presentation after Heather Dimmock’s Volcanic Reef wins the £10,000 Coral Winter Derby Final Photo: © Steve Nash
