Newcastle trainer Angela Harrison sent out an early scouting party in her plan to land the Ladbrokes Puppy Derby at Monmore and returned home with a short priced ‘Droopys’ treble.
Fastest of the trio was Droopys Verve (Loughteen Blanco-Droopys Cyclone, Jun 16) who beat Bubbly Roger by almost seven lengths in 28.26. The 4-6f was joined by 4-5f Droopys Zephyr (Romeo Recruit-Droopys Quinta, Apr 16) who won his heat in 28.83 and 7-4 shot Droopys Dev (Greenwell Hawk-Droopys Solange, Apr 15) who clocked 28.96. All races on -30 going.
Assistant trainer Jimmy Wright said: “It was a great run by Droopys Verve, though no more than I expected. It was only the third race of his life and he won his first ever race in 28.40 at Brough (Newcastle). He was beaten in his second race when he fell out three behind them. But we have looked after him with the Monmore competition in mind. He is only a June pup and still coming to himself and I reckon he is as good as we’ve ever had.
“Zephyr wasn’t as quick but he needed the run. Also, he is the sort of dog who takes a few runs to find his way around. He did it at Newcastle and at Sheffield and I would expect him to come on for the run. Dev is definitely the third string, a 28.60 dog at Newcastle. But he is still a decent pup in his own right. We have been struggling to get weight on him and hopefully he will continue to develop.
“I am not sure how many we will have in the competition, hopefully four or five including Move Over Evie. She has been held up by the weather. Hopefully by then the track will also come on a bit and the track will run better. It was a second slow when we trialled them which is not ideal for pups.”
The 2018 Ladbrokes Puppy Derby gets underway on Wednesday March 7th and concludes on Saturday March 21. It is open to 48 April pups and younger and worth £12,500 to the winner. Total prize money over £19,000
