Finals weekend to take centre stage in UK greyhound racing
Romford and Towcester take centre stage this weekend as the finals of the Coral Essex Vase and Premarket Pets Blue Riband take place this Friday evening and Sunday afternoon respectively.
Romford are first up on Friday where Coolavanny Aunty has been installed as the $2.10 favourite by greyhound betting sites. She was an impressive winner of her semi final last week when taking up the running, passing the stands for the first time and going on to score comfortably in a slick 34:87.
The key to the race is her clearing second favourite Coolavanny Bani ($4.50) who runs from red, if she can clear her on the run to the corner I think she’ll be pretty hard to beat, however that is a big if. Coolavanny Bani clocked a slightly quicker sectional last week, if they repeat the same sectionals you would have to fancy Bani to lead around the inside.
Dapper Rodney won from trap one last week, but he finds himself out in five for the decider. He has never raced from this far out and he will need a flying start to clear his rivals to the bend. Don’t dismiss Sweet Pear out in Trap six, as the sole wide seed, she may have the best of the draw with five inside seeds on her inner, it will be interesting to see if Dapper Rodney moves markedly to his left at trap rise and if he does the $13 price on offer about Sweet Pear may well be value.
It’s sure to be final to savour and maybe at a double figure price, Sweet Pear could be the one.
Falcon Looking to Swoop in Riband final
Reigning English Derby Champion Thorn Falcon will be looking to land another big prize at Towcester this Sunday in the final of the Au$19,000 Premarket Pets Blue Riband.
The brilliant son of Dorotas Wildcat and Hey Delilah was back to something like his best in last week’s semi-final when hitting the front just before the third bend to go on and score comfortably from Signit Otis and Bryce Canyon.
The other semi-final was won by outsider Ivy Hill Skyhigh at $15. The Mark Wallis trained son of Taylors Sky and Yahoo Perlena is hit and miss at boxes, but if getting one of his better starts as he did last week, he will look to make all. Thorn Falcon will jump odds on, he’s currently $1.80 but its well worth remembering he has been turned over at odds on in four of his last seven starts.
Signet Otis at $5 is a lightly raced improving young dog with a fine pedigree to match and his dam Forest Natalee was an Irish Oaks winner, he could well set the pace and any traffic in behind would aid his cause. He represents the value in the race, and he’ll be the one for me. Good Luck to all finalist this weekend at both venues.
Twelve Hunt Gold at Shelbourne Park
Twelve dogs remain in the hunt for the RCETS Gold Cup at Shelbourne Park this Saturday night. The news came over the weekend that almost all the government restrictions have been lifted and race times are back to normal.
Good Cody remains your $5 favourite for outright glory after his victory in heat four last week when he got up late to deny early pace-setter Serene Ace. Skywalker Angie was an impressive winner of her heat in 28:25 where she made all from trap three to beat Zoom and Macho Pride in a four-dog race.
Droopys Good made full use of trap one in heat two when he shrugged aside Storys Direct and Knight Tornado on the bend before going on to score in 28:64. Knight Tornado was a little unlucky in this heat. After getting away poorly he displayed real early pace on the run to the corner before being squeezed out at a vital stage and he remains one of interest going into this weekend’s semi-finals.
Heat three was won by the Karol Ramsbottom trained Vanderbilt in a flying 28:28. His starting can sometimes let him down but when he does trap on terms, he’s certainly a match for most.
Serene Ace runs from trap four in semi final one this Saturday and I expect him to beat Zoom and Droopys Good to the corner. If he can do that, he could be hard to peg back despite not being the strongest sort over the 480m trip.
Semi-final two looks the stronger on paper with quarter final winners Skywalker Angie, Vanderbilt and Good Cody all in opposition. I think there may be a big run in Knight Tornada. He previously clocked 27:88 around here for the 480m trip from trap one in the past and he wears the red jacket again this weekend. The draw could be all important and with a decent start he could have his more fancied rivals in trouble. It’s hard to believe he has only been drawn in red twice over the trip winning on both occasions and I will side with him to make it three from three this weekend.
Postman Cat Delivers in Clonmel Unraced
Postman Cat delivered a career best at Clonmel on Sunday when winning in the third round of the Rural Kennels unraced sweepstake. The son of Droopys Buick and Jetstream Lynx made all in a fine time of 28:34 for the 480m trip. He’s now won all three starts and is an extremely exciting youngster. He’s also a half-brother to 2021 Oaks and Derby winner Susie Sapphire. Other heat winners were Newinn Homer 28:64, Swords Rex 28:71 and Good King 28:79. The semi finals of the Unraced Sweepstake take place in Clonmel this Sunday evening.
Rio Tops Cork Sales
Rallying Rio was the top lot at the recent sales at Curraheen Park over the weekend. The Aug 20 unraced son of Out Of Range Asb and Rallying Bonny won his sales trial in 29:33 for the 480m trip. €4,500 was the winning bid (Au$7,100), another top lot was Boardwalk Buster (Au$6,150) while Beechwood Sandy and Dalcash Dapper both made Au$4,550.
UK and Irish weekend greyhound best bets
- Sweet Pear: 1 unit win (Romford Friday)
- Serene Ace: 2 units win (Shelbourne Park Saturday)
- Knight Tornado: 1 unit win (Shelbourne Park Saturday)
- Signit Otis: 1 unit win (Towcester Sunday)
January Total: + 0.72 units