Witton Derecho , trained by Jill Sutherst and assisted by partner Glenn Lynas stormed to a memorable victory in the inaugural £7500 to the winner Category One BGBF British Bred Northern Plate Final at Newcastle at odds of 5/1. Flying from the traps , Derecho made every post a winning one as the December 2016 bitch (Tullymurry Act x Alice Wake Up) crossed the winning line 1 1/4 lengths clear of the running on King Lennon (5/2 second favourite) in a flying 2830. Even money favourite for the race and superstar of both the sport and British Breeding , King Turbo , was slowly away , had a troubled passage throughout and could never get competitive when finishing in last place. Down To The Felt (3/1) finished third for the Heather Dimmock kennel whilst Darren Golightly’s Bellebob Zuri (50/1) and Paul Rutherford’s Colliery Billy (40/1) finished in fourth and fifth place respectively.
The night belonged to Witton Derecho though and assistant trainer Glenn Lynas said “I’m 63 years of age , I’ve spent the last 40 years of my life in the sport , I love the game and this has to go down as the best moment of my life in greyhound racing. Derecho is a terrific bitch , she’s really flown the lid tonight and once she’d led around the corner it was going to take some effort to peg her back”.
Ian Walton , operations manager at Newcastle stadium said “What an outstanding performance from the bitch , she’s improved with every run at the track. I’d like to thank everybody who made the competition a great success throughout and i’m sure we can take the event from strength to strength with each passing year. This area is a real hotbed of racing and breeding , the event was much needed and i’d like to thank Liz Mort and all the team at the BGBF for backing us”.
Next stop for Derecho ? The BGBF / Nottingham British Breeders Stakes , it’s sure to be another terrific competition and another great advertisement for British Breeding.
